.>■ '/'.
-IS '^
c^
/•
A'' -■ . ci-
. j> r^ > - .0-
</► .\
A A . ... .., ,A'
=o
#
v^^
:/
0 >;
xO
°^.
'</' \v'
-,^
,^^*.
<^
'0
-J.
o N 6 . 1 1
A
'^oo^
V
u
^' ^- ^ :>* <0
^
^
'V
^^■■^f.
^^' c
-1 ,-C-v
>#^.v^ .N?^
\'^^ »
^ .\>
•^oo^
THE EDUCATION OF
OUR GIRLS
THE EDUCATION
OF OUR GIRLS
By
Thomas Edward Shields, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology in
the Catholic University of America.
Author of ' ' The Making and Un-
making of a Dullard. * '
New York, Cincinnati, Chicago
BENZIGER BROTHERS
PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE
1907
mbil QbetaU
REMY LAFORT,
Censor Librorum.
LIBfMRY of COWcHES^I
Two Copies h'etjfivec! 3
NOV 29 (90f
I CUSS ^ KXc. «o.
\ COPY B.
v! ^
•'-\
ITmpctmatur,
4- JOHN M. FARLEY,
Archbishop of New York.
New York, October 10, 1907.
Copyright, 1907, by Benziger Brothers.
TO
THE RIGHT REVEREND
DENNIS JOSEPH O'CONNELL
RECTOR OF THE
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
IN SINCERE APPRECIATION
OF HIS EFFORTS IN BEHALF OF
OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
PREFACE
The problems which are discussed In these
pages are among the most Important with
which the educationist, In theory and In prac-
tice, Is called to deal. While It Is universally
acknowledged that the education of women
should be as perfect as possible and should
therefore be shaped In accordance with actual
needs and based on the most Improved meth-
ods, It Is not so clear just how this education
Is to be Imparted In such a way as to bring out
in their full value and beauty the special en-
dowments of woman.
Where such vital interests are at stake,
variety of opinion is to be expected, and the
most helpful means of reaching a final solu-
tion is found In the presentation and com-
parison of different views. Dr. Shields has
done this In a pleasing and effectual manner
by bringing forward In his book typical repre-
sentatives of opposite schools of thought con-
cerning coeducation. At the same time he
t Preface
has furnished an object lesson in criticism and
discussion which can not but prove helpful to
the individual teacher in her study and to
those gatherings of teachers at which educa-
tional problems are viewed in the light of a
larger experience and reviewed from many
standpoints.
The conclusion reached in this volume
is plainly in favor of the higher education of
women; but it is also higher education for
women. In keeping with the principle that
all education must consider not only the
knowledge to be provided but also and pri-
marily the needs and capacity of the develop-
ing mind, it is here claimed that woman can
be most fully and most naturally educated
only in a school or college for women. The
alleged advantages of coeducation are more
than outweighed by its disadvantages. As is
well known, serious objection has been urged
by recent authorities against the practice of
teaching both sexes the same subjects by the
same methods in the same institution. This
argument is presented here in a manner at
Preface g
once forceful and intelligible; and It Is
strengthened by considerations which the
Catholic parent and teacher will be the first to
appreciate.
This verdict, on the other hand, points
clearly to certain practical aspects of our
Catholic educational system. If it Is desirable
that our girls should be educated In schools
specially adapted to their needs and to their
social functions in life. It Is equally desirable
and necessary that these schools should be
properly equipped for what they undertake.
In other words, the most telling argument
against coeducation must be found In the work
done by schools exclusively for women. The
superiority of such work is to be secured not
so much by enriching the course of study and
adding attractions of minor Importance as by
preparing the teachers for their task. It Is no
doubt a praiseworthy thing In any teacher that
she should select as an occupation the train-
ing of other minds, even though the necessity
of earning a livelihood and the prospect of
a more advantageous situation later on should
lo Preface
be of prime Importance to her. But quite be-
yond these motives Is that which Inspires the
woman who takes up teaching as a religious
duty to which her whole life Is consecrated.
No better lesson In unselfish devotion to the
cause of truth can be given than that which
we find In our Catholic teaching communities.
This accounts, I am convinced, for the eager-
ness with which the sisterhoods welcome each
suggestion that holds out the promise of help-
ing them to better work. And It explains, In
large measure, the desire of Catholic parents
to have their daughters trained by religious
teachers wherever such training is available.
The simplest justice, no less than educational
wisdom, requires that the good-will and en-
thusiasm of our teachers should be recognized
by those who are charged with the work of
Catholic higher education ; and it is therefore
gratifying to note that this recognition, in a
very helpful form, comes from a professor in
the Catholic University, and from one who is
thoroughly acquainted with the needs and
possibilities of our schools. As this volume is
Preface 1 1
a proof of the Interest which Is taken at the
University In all the departments of our edu-
cational system, It will doubtless turn the
minds of our teachers toward the University
as a source of Information and direction. By
similar means and in view of similar condi-
tions, some of the Catholic centers of learn-
ing In Europe have drawn Into closer contact
with their university work the Religious who
devote themselves to the education of women.
The excellent results which are thus attained
are visible In the growing efficiency of Catho-
lic schools. Indeed, it Is becoming more and
more evident that women with a religious
vocation and the scientific training which only
the University can give, are the Ideal teachers
for our Catholic girls.
Toward such an ideal with its opportunities
of earnest and effectual work in the cause of
religion, the hearts of Catholic young women
Impulsively turn. The more completely that
ideal Is realized by our teaching communities,
the brighter will be their prospect of securing
cooperators In their work. The Divine call-
1 2 Preface
ing to a life which means so much for the
welfare of souls will be heard more clearly
and followed more promptly. To the faith-
ful teachers who are now striving for the bet-
terment of their schools and to those Catholic
young women who are seeking the path which
the Master would have them pursue, I ear-
nestly recommend this book, its reasoned-out
conclusions and its useful suggestions.
J. Card. Gibbons.
Contents
PAGE
I Raising an Issue . . • i?
II Some Psychical Sex Charac-
teristics . . . '33
III The Grading OF School Chil-
dren . . , . '52
IV Coeducation and Marriage . 67
V Symmetry in the Cultural
Development of the Sexes 81
VI Man and Woman Allies —
not Competitors . . 102
VII The Social Claim . .125
VIII The Social Claim versus The
Family Claim . . • ^57
IX The Vocations of Woman . 186
X Domestic Science . . . 213
XI The Woman's College of the
Future . . . .251
XII The Homemakers of the
Future .... 276
y
THE EDUCATION OF OUR GIRLS
DISCUSSED BT
Rev. Edwin Studevan, Ph.D.
Professor of Pedagogy in the University of A —
Philip Shannon, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology in the University of A
Miles O'Brien, M.A.
Writer on Economics, ex- Professor of Political
Economy in a Western university.
Miss Ruth, M.A. ('88) College of St. Lioba,
Principal of Normal School.
Miss Geddes, A.B. ('89) University of Michigan,
(co-ed, suspected of an interest in Professor
Shannon) .
Mr. Eaton
A wealthy business man with limited education.
Mrs. O'Brien
The mother of five children.
Scene — Dunbarton Hall
CHAPTER I
Raising an Issue
My thirty winters in Minnesota had hardly
prepared me for the trip to Chevy Chase last
night. The underground trolley has its disad-
vantages after all. A light snow, that would
not have affected travel in the Twin Cities,
made progress through the Capital City a
slow and difficult task. Even slight grades
were rendered formidable by a lack of sand.
The journey seemed interminable. The cars
were not heated for zero weather, and when
at last I rang the bell at Dunbarton Hall I was
chilled to the very marrow of my bones. I was
quite prepared to find the O'Briens alone,
feeling that the weather which tried me so
severely, in spite of my northern experience,
would be sufficient to keep the other guests
at home and I was agreeably surprised, there-
fore, on entering the library, to find a group
of friends already assembled around the glow-
1 8 The Education of Our Girls
ing grate. My arrival had evidently inter-
rupted Miss Geddes in the midst of one of
her tirades, for I had hardly got my toes up to
the fender when, without urging from any
one, she took up the thread of her interrupted
discourse.
**As I was just saying, the whole movement
for segregation is but another evidence of the
rawness of Chicago exhibiting itself through
its university. It is a recrudescence of the old
barbaric instinct in man that has kept woman
in bondage for thousands of years. Man has
always shown himself impatient of every at-
tempt made by woman to gain her rights. He
grants suffrage to the illiterate, to the ex-con-
vict, to the negro, and to the hordes of immi-
grants from Russia and southern Europe.
The Italian and the Slav, who know nothing
of our language or of our institutions, and
care less for them, are privileged to vote or to
sell their votes to those who wish to buy; but
woman must not be given the ballot lest by its
use she might gain her freedom! And now,
when she is beginning to get an education that
Raising an Issue 19
will equip her to gain an independent liveli-
hood and to meet man in the economic world
on equal terms, he is at once alarmed and cries
out for segregation!
"That he considers woman less fit than him-
self to pursue the regular curriculum of the
university is too absurd! Woman is by na-
ture more susceptible of culture than man ; her
instincts are finer, her sympathies are broader ;
and, as for her intelligence, why, it is admitted
by all those who are in a position to know that
whenever she is given an equal opportunity she
profits by it better than man! She is more
studious and spends the time in reading and
study that he spends on the ball field, or in his
club, at the gambling table or over his cups.
And then, besides, where else does man get
what little intelligence he has except from his
mother?"
The challenge was evidently leveled at
Professor Shannon, who sat through it all
with a perfectly blank face. I was wondering,
as I think the others were, how he would meet
it. The silence was beginning to be painful
20 The Education of Our Girls
when he turned with a quiet smile to Dr.
Studevan.
"I say, Studevan, this seems to be up to you.
The whole question of woman's suffrage and
of woman's rights resolves itself in last analy-
sis into a problem of pedagogy. Shall we
have coeducation or segregation? that is the
question" — "that doth make cowards of us
all," added Mr. O'Brien.
"No, Shannon," said Dr. Studevan seri-
ously, "this is really a question of sociology
rather than of pedagogy. These things are
never settled by the promulgation of a priori
principles or of scientific deductions. It is the
struggle for existence and the survival of the
fittest in the social world, don't you know.
These great fundamental forces will work out
the solution in due time and then some of you
brilliant sociologists will appear on the scene
and make a reputation for originality by pro-
mulgating to the world what it shall have
already discovered for itself."
"Oh, come now," replied Professor Shan-
non, "you are just trying to crawl out of a
Raising an Issue 21
difficulty: Miss Geddes has taken Issue with
views that you have often expressed where
woman could not defend herself."
"Doctor," said Miss Ruth, "you surely
would not be guilty of such an anachronism as
that Involved In upholding In the beginning
of the twentieth century the traditional infe-
riority of woman's intellect. Until recent
years woman has had no opportunity to show
her ability In the field of higher education. It
is said, of course, that she lacks Initiative and
self-reliance, but how could we expect this to
be otherwise when we consider the treatment
she has received through so many genera-
tions?"
"I don't expect It to be otherwise. Miss
Ruth ; we are all largely what the environment
of our ancestors has made us. However,
history does not reveal woman to us In un-
broken captivity: whenever her ability justi-
fied it, we find her governing man and leading
him into new conquests, but the number of
such women has been discouraglngly small."
"These were the few," replied Miss Ruth,
2 2 The Education of Our Girls
*'who rose above all difficulties and made op-
portunity. But to prove her ability we need
not turn to the past to hunt up the record of
the occasional woman who rose to great
heights in the intellectual world; even in the
short time since the universities have opened
their doors to her she has amply proved her
capacity. Just this afternoon I spent a de-
lightful hour with 'Little Pilgrimages Among
Women who have Written Famous Books.'
The catalogue of literary celebrities given in
that little book is of course very incomplete,
but it is not wanting in inspiration to women
with literary aspirations and it should furnish
food for thought to those who are opposed to
the higher education of women.
*'If we turn from the field of literature to
the technical periodicals that record the
growth of the various sciences, we shall find
that the percentage of women's names in the
list of contributors is increasing year by year.
In the field of journalism, too, woman is win-
ning for herself an honorable place in these
latter days, and although she has but recently
Raising an Issue 23
entered the learned professions, there are at
present many women physicians doing excel-
lent work, nor are the pulpit and the bar any
longer strangers to her eloquence. Although
the progressive State of Illinois has not yet
seen fit to grant the franchise to woman, it
would not be easy to find two men within her
borders who have done better work in mu-
nicipal reform than have Margaret Haley and
Catherine Goggin. The statue of Frances
Wlllard, erected by the State of Illinois, in
Statuary Hall, attests its appreciation of her
work In social reform.
"Moreover, It Is In your own field. Doctor,
that women are particularly distinguishing
themselves. Elementary education through-
out the country has practically passed into
woman's hands and she Is appearing In ever-
Increasing numbers In high school and college
faculties. There are few more Illuminating
writers on present educational problems than
Ella Flagg Young. But why proceed further ?
In the face of such facts as these I find it
difficult to understand how an intelligent, up-
24 The Education of Our Girls
to-date Professor of Pedagogy can oppose the
higher education of women."
"But, my dear Madam, I assure you if you
meant all that for me you are wasting your
ammunition on an empty fort. I have never
consciously been in the ranks of those who
oppose the higher education of woman. Noth-
ing, indeed, could be further from my thought.
In the first place I suspect that I lack the
courage to oppose anything that woman might
seriously desire. I would not, you know, for
anything in the world be considered ungal-
lant. But seriously, I realize the full force of
all that you have said and I am well aware
that it would not be difficult for you to multi-
ply arguments in support of the position you
have taken — if it needs support. It is evident
that woman is capable of higher education,
and it seems to me equally evident that she is
entitled to it. My opposition is not at all to
the higher education of woman, but to co-
education, which I had supposed to be the
thesis so eloquently defended by Miss
Geddes."
Raising an Issue 25
"But, Doctor, is not this still an evasion?
If woman is entitled to higher education — to
as high an education as man — should she not
take her place side by side with him in the
great universities of our country?"
*'No, I do not consider it an evasion. While
I most cordially agree to the proposition that
there is no education too high or too good for
woman, I am not at all convinced that she can
best obtain this education side by side with
man In the great universities of our country.
Coeducation and higher education are two
totally different questions, and the interests of
woman no less than the interests of truth suf-
fer by confusing them.
* 'Education implies the growth and devel-
opment of all the faculties of mind and heart,
but this surely does not mean the molding of
unlike natures Into a superficial resemblance
to each other. The higher education of
woman can by no possibility mean the molding
of her mental and moral life into the likeness
of the mental and moral life of man. Even
if this end were desirable it does not follow
26 The Education of Our Girls
that it could be attained by subjecting man
and woman to the same discipline. Person-
ally, I believe neither in the desirability nor
in the possibility of changing woman Into
man's likeness — she is far too charming as
she is.
"I find the advance of life to higher planes
everywhere dependent upon differentiation of
structure and specialization of function. A
reversal of this process always means degen-
eracy. I see no reason for expecting that the
laws which know no exception throughout all
the realms of life should be reversed on the
frontiers of the mental world. I am not led
to question the wisdom of the Creator by the
discovery that the mind and character of
woman and of man are as different from each
other as are their bodies. I think we shall
find that the present high level of civilization
is due in no small measure to the difference
between the characters of man and woman.
But this is trenching on the sociologist's field.
'*The Professor seems so rapt in blissful
contemplation this evening that it would be
Raising an Issue 27
cruel to ask him to expound to us his views
and theories on the subject. However, the
truth here is so elementary that I hardly see
how any of us can fail to recognize it. What
woman in her senses would willingly marry a
man whose mental and moral life was built
on feminine lines? and where is the man
amongst us who would not gladly remain a
bachelor all the days of his life rather than
marry a masculine woman? The fact of the
matter is both man and woman are incurably
vain. No man's happiness is complete unless
he has woman's admiration for his physical
strength or for his intellectual prowess; nor
is a woman's cup of happiness ever full with-
out man's appreciation of her physical charms.
To make man and woman alike, to give them
like capacities, Hke needs and desires, would
not only render them unattractive to each
other, but it would in many other ways cause
the wheels of progress to turn backward.
Man and woman were designed by nature to
be the complements of each other, not the
duplicates."
28 The Education of Our Girls
*'That is always the way with you men,'*
said Miss Geddes, "you would keep woman's
intellect dwarfed that she might look up to
you and admire you; you would keep her so
weak that she must cling to you and feed your
vanity; you would deprive her of an education
that would necessarily give her her independ-
ence and enable her to see through your shal-
low pretenses to intellectuality."
"Softly, my dear Miss Geddes, softly. I
have no intention of apologizing for the other
gentlemen present, nor any wish to make a
statement of their principles, but as far as I
am concerned I wish to assure you that the
stronger and the more intellectual and the
more independent woman is, the better I like
her. However, this is hardly the question
under discussion; and, moreover, I have al-
ready said that I am in favor of the higher
education of woman. Let me say again that
I do not believe there is any education too
high or too good for our mothers and our sis-
ters, for our wives and our daughters — and
our sweethearts. It is simply a question of
Raising an Issue 29
what education is best for woman herself. If
we are agreed in holding that men and women
in their mental and moral unfolding, even
from their earliest childhood, are entirely dif-
ferent from each other, it follows as an evi-
dent conclusion that it will require different
training to develop the best that is in each."
*'I don't know why I should agree to that
statement," retorted Miss Geddes. "Why is
woman so different from man, Fd like to
know ? Does she not eat the same food and
breathe the same air? Has she not the same
desire for happiness, the same need of inde-
pendence and freedom ? Is she not under the
same necessity of conquering her environment
and making it yield the boon for which all
strive? This constant assertion of the unlike-
ness of man and woman is but a flimsy disguise
of man's contempt for woman's intelligence.
There is neither male nor female in the spirit-
ual world, and if the mind and character of
woman seem to differ from those of man it is
because man has wronged her and kept her in
bondage so long that she has grown weak and
30 The Education of Our Girls
clinging and dependent. Give woman her
freedom, and while her body will remain as
God made it'* — "Not If she can help it,"
put in Miles O'Brien — "her mind will be
emancipated and she will meet man on equal
terms.
"It tries one's patience to meet men on
every side calmly assuming their own Inherent
superiority as If their souls were made of some
superior, celestial clay! *0n what meat doth
this our Caesar feed that he hath grown so
great!'"
"My dear Miss Geddes, I do not blame you
in the least for resenting that air of superior-
ity that the Professor has been wearing all
the evening. He sits there like a sphinx dis-
daining to vouchsafe a word of Illumination
to any of us. I confess that he often aggra-
vates me so that If It were not for my profes-
sion I would be inclined to try conclusions
with him in another way. But I had always
supposed that he had too much diplomacy to
manifest this assumed superiority toward his
lady friends."
Raising an Issue 31
"Well, I like that, when the fact of the
matter Is Mr. O'Brien has tried half a dozen
times to get a word in edgewise, and I have
been simply perplexed as to how you were
going to escape from the web of fallacies that
you have woven around yourself. I suppose
one should not expect consistency from a peda-
gog, but to be told that we should not have
coeducation because man and woman are un-
like mentally, and then to be told that they are
unlike mentally because we do not want them
to be alike is a little too much. Of course we
would hardly expect a pedagog to know any-
thing about history, but even the elementary
knowledge of history that is common to all
professions should have made him aware that
coeducation Is a natural institution. The
home Is the first great school. Smith with his
seven girls has an opportunity to try segrega-
tion, but I do not think he appreciates it; and
most people with families regard it as a de-
cided advantage to have both boys and girls.
"There are a hundred other things that I
have been waiting for an opportunity to say,
32 The Education of Our Girls
but the Doctor has used up the whole even-
ing ; and while I hate to break up this delight-
ful company, I find it is past time for me to be
starting for home."
"Just a moment, Professor," said Mrs.
O'Brien, "Anna has some crackers and Roque-
fort and a cup of coffee to reenforce you against
this cold evening; and you are to consider
yourselves invited to the next meeting of the
Crackers and Cheese Club on Friday evening,
when the Professor, I am sure, will favor us
with his views, and I know that Miles is just
bursting with the pent-up desire to enlighten
the rest of us."
CHAPTER II
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics
"In the last meeting of this club," said Miles
O'Brien, "Miss Geddes triumphantly vindi-
cated woman's capacity and woman's claim
to higher education, and we have all been
waiting for you. Professor, to follow suit this
evening, that we may see how you measure up
beside her in your plea for coeducation for the
male and female sexes."
"It is not fair to expect me to defend the
cause of coeducation in this company. The
Doctor aroused my curiosity the other even-
ing; I wanted to see him extricate himself
from his tangle of fallacies. It is one thing,
however, to see through Dr. Studevan's fal-
lacies and quite another to espouse the cause
of coeducation, particularly in the present
company, for many of you have given the sub-
ject more thought and study than I have.
There are, however, a few obvious facts in
34 The Education of Our Girls
favor of coeducation that do not seem to have
impressed our pedagog.
"The family is the oldest of human institu-
tions. It was the only school known to primi-
tive man and the verdict of the ages has been
decidedly in favor of mixed families. When-
ever Divine Providence sees fit to bestow
segregated families, no one seems to be par-
ticularly grateful. Man seldom successfully
interferes with nature's plan and we should
scarcely expect good results from the artificial
separation of the sexes in our schools. The
constant presence of the opposite sex is a
natural stimulus for the development of many
of the best traits of both boys and girls.
Segregation has a long history back of it and
the results can hardly be pointed to as evi-
dence in favor of the plan. It is something
like the maiming of the feet of the Chinese
women or the disfigurement of the heads of
the South American Indians. The placing of
man's ideals above nature's laws is the folly
Involved in each of these cases, and wherever
this happens the one thing we may count
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 35
upon with certainty is that nature will be
avenged.
^'When the girl is excluded during all the
years of her school life from the companion-
ship of the opposite sex she grows weak and
defenseless. The results of this procedure,
however, were not so disastrous in the past as
they are proving to be in the present. When, in
the olden time, the girl left her convent home
only to enter under the protection of the
parental roof, where she was not allowed to
meet men until her parents had selected a suit-
able husband for her, the defects of her edu-
cation along the lines we are now considering
were not so fatal. The economic changes of
the past half century have driven woman from
her old position. Steam and electricity have
robbed her of domestic employment; and, at
least as far as the masses of our city popula-
tion are concerned, the girl is obliged on leav-
ing school to seek employment In the shop and
the factory and in the busy marts of trade.
Woman must find for herself a new position
and new employment, and this away from the
36 The Education of Our Girls
protection of the home. Where her school
training has left her unfit to meet these condi-
tions disaster is the usual result. It is only the
silly ranter who now lifts his voice against the
new woman. To try to drive her back into
her old position is as futile as it would be to
inveigh against the waters of Niagara and ex-
pect as a result that they would return to the
placid bosom of the Great Lakes.
"In view of these facts the segregation of
the girl during her school life would seem to
be the worst possible preparation for her suc-
cessful struggle with the environment which
she must enter the day she leaves school. If
she is to succeed here she must be taught to
rely upon herself; she must know man; she
must know how to protect herself from him
and how to compete with him successfully.
The attempt to give her this equipment in a
segregated school would seem to be as hope-
less as the attempt to teach physics or chem-
istry or biology without the aid of a labora-
tory. It is worth remembering also that
woman is not the only loser by the system of
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 37
segregation. A study of our boarding schools
where boys are huddled together away from
woman's refining influence during the forma-
tive period of their lives shows a decided
tendency to coarseness as the general result.
The presence of the girls keeps the boys on
their good behavior; it appeals to their un-
selfishness and to their chivalry and It develops
many of the finer traits of character.
"The demand for coeducation, therefore,
would seem to have back of it natural law and
to be reenforced by present social and eco-
nomic conditions."
"All this talk," said Mr. Eaton, "about
woman's meeting man on equal terms is pure
moonshine. She Is not now and she never
was content to meet man on equal terms. She
has always played the role of queen and still
Insists on doing it. She has an unfair advan-
tage of man as the case stands. When I reach
the street car on my way home from my of-
fice, tired to death, and get on at the end of
the line so as to secure a seat, we hardly go a
block when a bevy of your Vomen competi-
38 The Education of Our Girls
tors In the busy marts of trade,' who are cry-
ing out for the privilege of meeting man on
equal terms, boards the car and straightway
we men must relinquish our seats to our
'equals' and hang to a strap the rest of the
way home ! We have been having altogether
too much talk about wo^nan's rights; it seems
to me high time that we heard something
about man^s rights. Women are Invading our
offices and driving men out of position after
position by unfair competition; they compel
men to contribute part of their support and
then underbid them for every desirable posi-
tion In sight. The equal terms that woman
wants seem to be all the soft snaps with the
homage of man thrown In. Man is old and
hardened and is beginning to get used to his
chains, but throwing girls In among a lot of
young boys In our universities to take their
thoughts away from their studies and to keep
them dancing attendance on the fair sex and
digging into the paternal exchequer to buy
theater tickets and soda water and candy is
carrying the joke a little too far.''
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 39
"Poor man, it's a pity about him," retorted
Miss Geddes. "Crows will come home to
roost, you know. Man naturally rebels when
he is compelled to take a dose of his own med-
icine. Whose fault is it, Fd like to know, that
woman supplies the demand for cheap labor?
If there were any fairness in man he would see
to it that the scale of wages was regulated by
the quality and quantity of the work instead of
by the sex of the worker. But of course this
would deprive him of an excuse for inveighing
against women and Chinamen as cheap la-
borers.
"And as for man hanging to the straps in
the street cars, it serves him exactly right. If
women were permitted to vote how long do
you suppose the street-car companies would
be allowed to bulldoze the public in this way ?
They take good care to collect the fares and a
few thousand dollars slipped into the hands of
public servants secures them the privilege of
packing human beings into the street cars like
sardines.
"And as for our young men in college, if
40 The Education of Our Girls
they are such imbeciles as you paint them, it is
about time that they had chaperones appointed
to protect the poor dears against the girls!
But judging from the statement of President
Eliot, the young men do not seem to be fall-
ing very rapidly into the nets which the young
college women are spreading for them."
"Now, will you be good," said Miles
O'Brien, turning with an air of mock serious-
ness to Mr. Eaton. "Evidently segregation
must look elsewhere than to man's wrongs for
support when coeducation has such a brilliant
advocate as Miss Geddes. I vote for fair
play. Let's divide the thing between them;
give man the coeducation and woman the
segregation.
"I taught for many years in a university
where we had coeducation and my heart al-
ways bled for the poor girls. Girl freshmen
bloomed like roses and lilies, but by the time
they had grown into seniors the blood had all
faded from their cheeks and the drawn looks
on their faces would melt the heart of a stone.
In those years when every young woman's
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 41
fancy should be turning to poetry, to music
and painting, with a little serious work thrown
in for condiment, it's a sin that cries to heaven
for vengeance to have them wasting their
beautiful young lives trying to keep up with
the young men in mathematics and in civil
engineering. If they listened to nature's voice
during those years, they would be designing
pretty gowns and Easter bonnets and growing
into graceful ways that would soften the heart
of even such confirmed bachelors as our
friend Shannon. Give the dears higher edu-
cation, of course, but give it to them in smaller
doses. If they don't get married, give them
six or seven years to drink It in instead of
four. There is no sense in hurrying up the
dear creatures. They have so many things to
learn that never bother a man's head. And
besides they are handicapped in other ways;
look at the time it takes them every morning
to fix their hair and dress becomingly, at least
if It takes them as long as it takes Kate." I
"Oh, it's easy for you to talk, Miles," said
Mrs. O'Brien, "but you keep the whole house
42 The Education of Our Girls
waiting on you when you are dressing. Your
studs have to be put in for you and your tie
fastened, and the dear knows all. Women
aren't a bit slower in dressing than men are."
"It is all well enough to laugh at the ques-
tion," said Miss Ruth, "but it is really a very
serious matter for all that. A good college
education is now a necessity to all of our
women who must provide for themselves and
who would rise above the rank of clerks and
domestic servants. There seem to be Insuper-
able obstacles whichever way one turns. On
the one hand we are told that segregation
leaves woman weak and defenseless; and on
the other hand we are assured that coeduca-
tion destroys her physical constitution and
takes the young men's thoughts away from
their work. Dr. Studevan should be able to
find a solution for us. The key to the situa-
tion is surely not to be found in the constantly
changing social environment but in the process
of mental unfolding."
"Well, I tried to give my views at our last
meeting, but Shannon wouldn't give me a
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 43
chance to talk. The root of the whole ques-
tion, as I said, lies in the fundamental differ-
ence between the mental and moral life of
man and the mental and moral life of woman.
When I first took up the study of psychology,
some fifteen or twenty years ago, I felt that
undue emphasis had been laid upon this con-
trast between the character of man and the
character of woman. It was evident, of
course, that woman was more beautifully at-
tired and that man had a more convenient, if
less artistic, costume. They both spoke the
same language; they delighted in the same
books ; they worshiped at the same altar ; they
ate the same food. But on closer acquaintance
the superficiality of this view became evident.
The longer I have known men and women and
the more intimately I have become acquainted
with their methods, with the springs of their
actions and the color of their thoughts, the
more unlike each other they have seemed until
now my difficulty is to find points of resem-
blance, so completely do they seem to differ
from each other."
44 The Education of Our Girls
"Doctor, you talk as If you were lecturing
to your class in pedagogy this evening," said
Miss Geddes, "and as usual dealing in glit-
tering generalities. Would it be asking too
much of you to point out to us some of these
striking differences of which you are always
talking?"
"Why, I don't mind. Miss Geddes, if you
will only be good enough to listen to me. To
begin with, in their loves there is this impor-
tant difference between man and woman: the
instinct for concealment seems to be an inte-
gral part of man's love, while woman glories
in her love. In religion there is a similar dif-
ference. The man who parades his religion
is usually wanting in genuine piety and the
prudent man suspects him of designs on other
people's purses. The piety of woman, on the
contrary, finds no need for concealment.
Again, a woman suddenly confronted with
overwhelming evidence of some fault, will
deny everything until her conscience has had
time to assert Itself and compel her to make
a confession ; whereas, man, under similar cir-
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 45
cumstances, will break down Immediately and
admit his fault until his intelligence comes to
his aid in concocting a lie.
"There is a difference between man and
woman more fundamental than any of these:
woman reaches the truth directly by a sort of
Intuition, while man gropes his way slowly
toward the truth as the conclusion of an argu-
ment. In the one case the propositions of an
argument are fused into one conscious state;
In the other they are merely articulated.
Again, woman is predominantly emotional,
while man's conduct is more amenable to rea-
son and argument; a difference which is due
In large measure to the difference In their way
of arriving at truth. George Eliot has pic-
tured a fundamental difference in the sympa-
thies of man and woman In her portrayal of
the characters of Savonarola and Romola.
Savonarola was carried away by his enthu-
siasm for principle and was often blind
to the sufferings of the individuals about
him, while Romola's broader view was
dimmed by her tears of sympathy for the
46 The Education of Our Girls
sufferings of those with whom she came
in contact.
"Now, the bearing of all this on the ques-
tion of coeducation seems to me quite evident.
The multiplying of several unlike numbers by
the same number must give unlike results. So,
too, a like treatment of unlike natures must
result in different developments. The princi-,
pie here involved carries us much further than
the question of coeducation. There are
scarcely two boys or two girls in any of our
schools who receive similar treatment without
its resulting in injury to one or the other. The
aim of all true education must be to deal with
each child according to his needs, and these
needs will differ in proportion as the children
differ from one another."
"That view is set forth beautifully in *The
Ambassador of Christ,' by Cardinal Gib-
bons," said Miss Ruth. "Have you the book,
Mr. O'Brien? . . . Thank you. Let me
read these few lines (page 50) :
" 'The professor who would aim at shaping
the character of all his students according to
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 47
one uniform ideal standard would be attempt-
ing the impossible, because he would be
striving to do what is at variance with the
laws of nature and of nature's God. In all
the Creator's works, there is charming variety.
There are no two stars in the firmament equal
in magnitude and splendor, "for star differeth
from star in glory"; there are no two leaves
of the forest alike, no two grains of sand, no
two human faces. Neither can there be two
men absolutely identical in mental capacity or
moral disposition. One may excel in solid
judgment, another in tenacity of memory, and
a third in brilliancy of Imagination. One is
naturally grave and solemn, another is gay
and vivacious. One is of a phlegmatic,
another of a sanguine temperament. One is
constitutionally shy, timid, and reserved;
another is bold and demonstrative. One is
taciturn, another has his heart in his mouth.
The teacher should take his pupils as God
made them, and aid them in bringing out the
hidden powers of their soul. If he tries to
adopt the leveling process by casting all in the
48 The Education of Our Girls
same mold, his pupils will become forced and
unnatural in their movements; they will lose
heart, their spirit will be broken, their man-
hood crippled and impaired.
" ' "I will respect human liberty," says
Monseigneur Dupanloup, "in the smallest
child even more scrupulously than in a grown
man; for the latter can defend him.self against
me, while the child can not. Never shall I
insult the child so far as to regard him as
material to be cast into a mold, and to emerge
with a stamp given by my will."
" 'Instead of laboring to crush and subdue
their natural traits and propensities, he should
rather divert them into a proper chan-
nel. ...
*' 'Jesus Christ is the model Teacher. His
conduct toward His disciples is the best exam-
ple to be followed. He did not attempt to
quench their natural spirit, but He purified
and sanctified it in the fires of Pentecost.
After Peter had graduated in the school of his
Master, he remained the same ardent man
that he had ever been.' "
|b Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 49
"The Cardinal Is entirely right," said Dr.
Studevan. "Every line of psychology Insists
upon the truth that It Is the business of the
teacher to go to the pupil and to deal with him
according to his needs. The situation In the
schools renders It Impossible to deal with each
child separately, and some classification Is nec-
essary In order to economize time and to se-
cure system. This classification must be based
not alone on differences of actual attainment
but on the differences of the underlying na-
tures of the children. Now, since the most '
fundamental of these differences seem to be
associated with sex, a classification along sex \
lines would seem to be desirable."
"But, Doctor, Is not this placing theory
above natural law? If the home Is nature's
school, coeducation Is nature's plan and a sep-
aration of the sexes Is consequently a viola-
tion of it." U ^4'
"Miss Ruth, we must not be misled by thcj,^ ^
Professor's fallacies. You see, he was com- ^
pelled to defend coeducation, and we mustn't
be too hard on him. It would never do to
V
50 The Education of Our Girls
take it for granted that he has failed to make
a close analysis of such Institutions as the
home and the school. In any such analysis he
must have discovered many fundamental dif-
ferences of the utmost Importance to a proper
understanding of this question. The school is
but a specialized offshoot of the home and it
is very far from being analogous to It. The
school does not deal with Infancy nor does it
normally Include the social life of the pupil.
'The need of social intercourse between the
sexes has been pointed out, but it is not at all
necessary that this social intercourse should
take place in the classroom. Again, we might
very well concede the advantage of mixed fac-
ulties which would impart to the young women
the strength and quality that is supposed to
emanate from the masculine character and
which would give the boys that cultural de-
velopment which can only be secured through
a woman. Moreover, the question of Coedu-
cation versus Segregation applies more partic-
ularly to the period of adolescence — to the
high school and college. Many advocates of
Some Psychical Sex Characteristics 5 1
segregation for the older pupils are quite con-
tent with coeducation in the elementary
schools. And among all primitive peoples,
however closely the sexes may be associated
in infancy, their occupations become quite
sharply differentiated before the children
reach the period of adolescence. So that the
argument from nature is clearly in favor of
segregation and no one is more keenly aware
of this than the Professor himself. There
are, however, so many phases of this subject
which merit our consideration that I do not
dare take them up now. The Professor is
already growing restless; he is afraid, I sup-
pose, that his landlady will lock him out."
CHAPTER III
The Grading of School Children
"It is a pleasant surprise to find you here to-
night, Miss Ruth," said Professor Shannon
on entering the room. "I had about recon-
ciled myself to your deserting us for the con-
cert, but I really wanted you to bring your
experience to bear on the wild theories of our
friend Studevan."
*'What is there so particularly wild about
them?"
''You surely are not going to back him up
in this! If we grade children not merely ac-
cording to differences in age and acquirement,
but according to differences in disposition and
inclination, it will necessitate as many grades
in the school as there are children. Won^t
you admit that the theory is visionary and
impractical?"
"I don't think we quite understand Dr.
Studevan, Of course he could not mean what
The Grading of School Children 53
you seem to find in his statement. But here is
the Doctor; he will help us out, I am sure."
'*I am always delighted to help a lady out,
Miss Ruth, but as for our friend Shannon, I
think I would rather help him in. Isn't Miss
Geddes here this evening?"
"Oh, yes; when you see Professor Shannon
you never have far to look for Miss Geddes.
She has just left the room with Mrs. O'Brien
— but speak of angels."
"Who has been talking about me?"
"Professor Shannon, of course," replied
Dr. Studevan; "he heard the rustle of your
wings as soon as he came in."
"Doctor," said Miss Ruth, "won't you tell
us what you meant by the new system of grad-
ing school children that you suggested last
Friday evening? Do you mean that we are
to abandon the present system of grading
children according to age and attainment and
to substitute a gradation according to differ-
ences in the dispositions and tendencies of the
children ? Or do you advocate a system based
on both of these principles?"
54 The Education of Our Girls
"Is not that a rather large contract for one
evening? It usually furnishes me sufficient
matter for three or four lectures. But really,
I had no intention of suggesting a new system
of grading school children, although I do be-
lieve it quite possible to improve the present
system in many ways. I suppose you refer to
my innocent remark that unlike children
should receive unlike treatment, which is a
very different thing from suggesting that
children who differ from one another should
be put into different rooms.'*
"Of course you might have to make com-
promises,'' said Miss Ruth, "since no two chil-
dren are exactly alike, and naturally we could
not have a separate room and a separate
teacher for each child. But if the treatment
of the children should vary in the same pro-
portion as the children differ from one another
in character and in developmental tendencies,
such differences surely should be taken into
account in placing the children in the various
grades. It would evidently be an advantage
to bring together in the same room and under
The Grading of School Children 55
the same teacher the children who most closely
resemble one another."
"That is your conclusion, perhaps, but it is
not my statement and it is very far from my
thought. Contrast is a principle of art, and
unlikeness is characteristic of all nature. Look
at the variety in the plant life that clothes the
hillside and flourishes in the valley. Again,
It Is the unlikeness of flower and insect that
render these creatures indispensable to each
other. And in the great cycle of life how
close is the interdependence of plant and ani-
mal, of earthworm and bacterium. This con-
trast and opposition is an all-pervasive prin-
ciple of life; its presence is essential even
within the narrow limits of the protozoon^s
body, whose growth and nutrition depend
essentially on the presence of antagonistic ele-
ments. The animalcule grows to Inconvenient
size and divides Into two daughter cells ; each
daughter cell In due time repeats the process,
but if we continue our observation we will find
that the growth and multiplication diminish
as we proceed from generation to generation.
56 The Education of Our Girls
Usually after a limited number of generations
the vital manifestations cease unless two
divergent Individuals meet and fuse and thus
rejuvenate the life process.
*'This principle does not halt at the fron-
tiers of life; all activity in the inanimate world
is similarly conditioned. The flow of heat de-
pends upon differences In temperature. The
thunder of Niagara and the mighty rush of the
Whirlpool Rapids, which Huxley has so beau-
tifully compared to life itself, are but the
manifestations of water seeking equilibrium.
If from this we turn our eyes to the opposite
frontier of created being, where else shall we
find the source of the divine discontent which
fills the soul of the artist except in the contrast
between the Inward vision and its outward ex-
pression ?
"Unlikeness Is also Indispensable to the
joy and frultfulness of social intercourse.
Every night and morning for years I have de-
voutly offered up the Scotchman's prayer: *0
God, gle us a gude conceit o' oursel,' and
while I feel that Divine Providence has never
The Grading of School Children 57
answered any other of my prayers so abun-
dantly, still I promise you that if ever I find a
man just like myself — I will most scrupulously
avoid him. It is hard to imagine anything
more stupid than a group of people each one
of whom is exactly like every other. The
activity of a magnet is proportionate to the
difference between its poles. In social inter-
course likewise the mental activity evoked is
a function not of similarities but of differences
among the persons concerned. In his 'Second
Thoughts of an Idle Fellow/ Jerome K.
Jerome has given us a picture of the ennui of
the isolated honeymoon. We have often been
told that half a century of wedded bliss molds
the minds and hearts as well as the features of
husband and wife into the likeness of each
other; we see them sitting beside the fire on
a winter's evening with no need for speech
since they are 'Two souls with but a single
thought; two hearts that beat as one.' I ad-
mit the beauty of it all; but it is well to re-
member that it is the beauty of rest and peace,
perhaps of heaven. It is not the manifesta-
58 The Education of Our Girls
tion of progress, of activity, of change and
growth."
"If you were logical, Doctor," said Miss
Geddes, "you would be an advocate of tempo-
rary marriages. If the stimulation to mutual
activity disappears so rapidly, a change would
be quite advantageous In a couple of years,
don't you think?"
"Your conclusion hardly follows, Miss
Geddes — at least when Providence is merci-
ful. A year or two of married life may bring
changes, you know, and Introduce many new
forms of activity, such as pacing the floor at
night, and many differences of opinion con-
cerning the proper discipline for children."
"Studevan Is at his old tricks to-night," said
the Professor; "he Is treating us to grandilo-
quent perorations and dodging the question at
issue."
"No one expects Shannon to see the point
this evening, his thoughts are far too pleas-
antly occupied to follow the argument. Pro-
fessor, if you will just look this way and try
to concentrate your attention for a few min-
The Grading of School Children 59
utes I will endeavor to explain the situation to
you.
"I have just been pointing out the advantage
of having little boys and little girls sit side by
side in our schoolrooms. Their embryonic
love affairs need hardly give any one concern
and the children have much to learn from one
another. The boy will be kept on his good
behavior, his gentleness and his chivalry will
be developed and he will learn his first lessons
in protecting the weak and in seeing the world
through the eyes of others; and the girl will
lay deep the foundations of an understanding
of the masculine nature which will prove of
inestimable value to her in later life when she
undertakes the difficult task of managing a
husband.
*'Men and women are so different from
each other that it is quite essential to begin
early to give them such a mutual understand-
ing as will put the divorce court out of busi-
ness. Moreover, there are many beneficial
results to be derived from the grouping in the
same room of children with unlike dispositions
6o The Education of Our Girls
and unlike tendencies. Even more than in the
case of adults, the unlikeness of the members
of the youthful group stimulates mental activ-
ity. The adult has resources within himself;
he has the key to many a storeroom in nature's
treasury, and in his library he may commune
with the choice minds of all the ages.
"On the other hand, imitation is the chief,
I had almost said the only, avenue of knowl-
edge open to the child. Imitation is some-
what like gravity, the strength of the impulse
seems to vary Inversely as the distance. The
mind and the character of the teacher may
give direction to the child's endeavor, but the
child or the man is strongly moved to Imitate
only those who stand near him. It Is quite
essential, therefore, to the child's unfolding
life that he be provided with a reasonably
large group of divergent models. In a prop-
erly conducted schoolroom the children learn
far more from one another than they do from
either books or teachers.
"If the differences In the characters and in
the developmental tendencies of the children
The Grading of School Children 6 1
are to be taken Into account at all in grouping
them into grades, it should be for the purpose
of separating children who are duplicates of
each other — one of a kind is sufficient in any
room. In the old-time school, where the end
sought was erudition rather than education,
the process of cramming might have been
facilitated by the uniformity of the children;
but in the modern school, where the whole
effort is to promote growth and development
in the children, the chief needs are a stimu-
lating environment and a reasonably wide
range of models for imitation."
"The little country school which I attended
as a boy," said Mr. Eaton, * Vould come very
near filling the bill according to the Doctor's
specifications. He certainly would have no
room to complain of want of differences
among the children. There were some fifty
of us of both sexes and all ages crowded Into
one little room 20 X 30 feet, and the same
teacher taught the a, b, c's and the higher
mathematics with some French and Latin on
the side, and I must say that I saw as
62 The Education of Our Girls
good work done In that little school as I have
ever seen in after years in the high school or
college. And come to think of it, a great
many of those fifty children have attained no
small measure of success in after life. Not to
speak of your humble servant, who of course
is a shining light, two of the boys have be-
come lawyers, one is a judge, another is the
president of a great railroad, another is a
doctor of national reputation, two of them are
university professors, and one of them honors
the miter."
"If your school is a fair sample of the
country school," said Professor Shannon,
*'why not do away with the grades altogether?
Isn't that the logical outcome of the Doctor's
argument?"
"I believe it is conceded," said Miss Ruth,
"that the country school has given us far more
than its pro rata of successful men, but in ac-
counting for this there are many things to be
taken into consideration besides the absence
of grades. The children are usually healthier;
they are in Immediate contact with nature and
The Grading of School Children 63
they thus receive a sense training of Inesti-
mable value such as even the best efforts of
the city school cannot supply. The children
In the country school are thrown more on
their own resources and from a very early age
develop a self-reliance and an Initiative that
are also exceedingly difficult to Impart In a
crowded city school. It Is to these things
rather than to the absence of grades that the
success of the country school is due ; neverthe-
less, the fact that it does obtain such good
results without grading and where the diffi-
culties of the teacher seem so great is very
suggestive. The matter has often puzzled
me, but It seems from what the Doctor has
just said that the absence of grades Is at least
largely compensated for by the greater variety
In the children and by the greater stimulation
to mental activity thus evoked. I confess I
never before thought of the matter in this
light. I wonder if the Doctor really holds the
absence of all grades to be an advantage?"
"No, certainly not. A judicious grading
will always be an advantage to both the
64 The Education of Our Girls
teacher and the pupil. The benefit following
from the absence of grades in the country
school is indirect and accidental. The really
essential thing is that each child should be
treated according to his needs. In the coun-
try school the teacher by force of circum-
stances is compelled to do this. Where he
has to deal with so many children in every
phase of development he is obliged to treat
them individually. The machine mold of the
grade is impossible nor is there any tempta-
tion to make all the children alike, as in the
case of large schools where the grading is
close.
"A successful dinner party or social evening
demands a certain similarity as well as a cer-
tain difference among the members of the
group. In nothing is the social tact of the
hostess put to a severer test than in thus bring-
ing together just the right people. The guests
must be chosen from the same social and intel-
lectual plane with just enough of diversity to
supply healthful mental stimulation — 'and this
overdone or come tardy off' — and so, too, in
The Grading of School Children 65
an ideal grading, were this ever actually pos-
sible, we should have to consider many things
which we at present entirely Ignore.
"In Germany they have different schools
for the children of different social lamina, but
this of course Is out of the question In a coun-
try like ours. Still, It Is not Improbable that
some modification In our present mode of
grouping the children would prove advanta-
geous. For Instance, the education of the
child who Is to leave school permanently on
the completion of the seventh or eighth grade
might well be different In many Important re-
spects from the education of the child who
contemplates a college or university career.
Again, It is an open question whether or not
it is best for the children who have home ad-
vantages to mingle freely with the children
from the slums. It Is also a question whether
or not It contributes to the mental and moral
welfare of the poorly fed and poorly clothed
children to be thrown Into Immediate associa-
tion with the well-fed and well-clothed chil-
dren of the wealthy."
66 The Education of Our Girls
"Pardon me for interrupting you, Doctor,'^
said Mrs. O'Brien, "Miles is looking hungry
and we will all enjoy the rest of this conversa-
tion better around the dining-room table."
CHAPTER IV
Coeducation and Marriage
"In spite of all that Dr. Studevan has said on
the value of contrast as a stimulus to mental
development," said Miles O'Brien as he
passed the Roquefort to Miss Ruth, *'I came
away from the university convinced by my
five years of teaching co-eds that coeducation
is a failure. Whatever may be the motives
that actuate the young ladles In coming to the
university, they soon divide into two well-de-
fined groups. The members of one group
work hard ; they usually maintain a high class
standing and Injure their health. The mem-
bers of the other group devote their chief at-
tention to the young men. This results In
cardiac enlargement rather than in cerebral
development. And as to the young men, why
of course It would be unreasonable to expect
any young man with red blood in his veins to
devote his evenings to physics, to higher math-
68 The Education of Our Girls
ematlcs, or to Roman law when there Is a
sweet young lady waiting to entertain him.
"Love and war may well go together, but
the emotional disturbances evoked by love In
the young man of twenty are far too great to
permit of serious study. If our young men's
minds are to be sufficiently developed during
their college days to Insure for them a success-
ful career In life, I am afraid the young ladles
will have to be banished from the university
and love-making postponed until the school
period Is completed."
"Why should the young man In college de-
vote all his evenings to physics or to Roman
law?" demanded Miss Geddes. "Are mate-
rial prosperity and success In outwitting one's
fellows the only things for which our young
men should be trained In the colleges and uni-
versities? Their physical strength Is devel-
oped on the ball field and In the gymnasium,
and their minds are trained in the laboratory
and in the classroom. Has the aesthetic ele-
ment In their life no value? Should they so
far neglect their moral and social life that
Coeducation and Marriage 69
they cannot afford an evening or two a week
for their friends?"
"You are quite right," said Professor Shan-
non; "the whole tendency of the time Is
toward an over-emphasis of the material side
of hfe. Time was when men worked In order
to live; to-day It would seem that the only
value of hfe is dollars and cents. Art and
literature, music and song, and the joys of
home may only be Indulged In during an occa-
sional hour for which no other use can be
found."
"Is not this tendency to overestimate the
material side of life," asked Miss Ruth, "one
of the greatest dangers threatening our social
existence? I was much Impressed with Pro-
fessor Miinsterberg's article on the Ameri-
can Woman, In The International Monthly
for June, 1901."
"Let me get you the number," said Mr.
O'Brien, "we have It here on the shelf."
"As I remember the article," said Miss
Ruth, "he proves that the male portion of the
community has practically lost Its appreciation
70 The Education of Our Girls
of all the higher things of life. Let me read
you this page :*
" 'The public life that I have in mind is the
public expression of the ideal energies, the
striving for truth and beauty, for morality and
religion, for education and social reform, and
their embodiment, not in the home, but in the
public consciousness. In Germany no one of
these functions of public life is without the
support and ennobling influence of active
women, but decidedly the real bulk of the
work is done by men; they alone give to it
character and direction, and their controlling
influence gives to this whole manifoldness of
national aims its strenuousness and unity; to
carry these into the millions of homes and to
make them living factors in the family, is the
great task of the women there. Here, on the
other hand, the women are the real supporters
of the ideal endeavors: in not a few fields,
their influence is the decisive one ; in all fields,
this influence is felt, and the whole system
tends ever more and more to push the men
*The International Monthly, Vol. III., p. 624.
Coeducation and Marriage 71
out and the women In. Theater managers
claim that eighty-five per cent, of their patrons
are women. No one can doubt that the same
percentage would hold for those who attend
art exhibitions, and even for those who read
magazines and literary works in general, and
we might as well continue with the same some-
what arbitrary figure. Can we deny that there
are about eighty-five per cent, of women
among those who attend public lectures, or
who go to concerts, among those who look
after public charities and the work of the
churches? I do not remember ever to have
been in a German art exhibition where at least
half of those present were not men, but I do
remember art exhibitions in Boston, New
York, and Chicago where according to my
actual count the men in the hall were less than
five per cent, of those present.' "
"Whatever may be said in extenuation of
the conditions which Miinsterberg portrays in
that article," said Professor Shannon, ''there
are few who will challenge the truth of his
statements. In a new country like ours It was
72 The Education of Our Girls
to be expected, of course, that the men ac-
tively engaged in developing its wonderful
physical resources would occasionally lose
sight of the higher things; but we are in real
danger when our schools and universities,
which should hold aloft the lamp of truth and
direct the attention of the young steadfastly
toward culture and the real values of life, set
up success in the mad race for wealth as their
only standard. Even the churches seem to be
forgetting the message which they were com-
missioned to preach to the world.
"The situation is truly alarming when a
man so full of idealism as Mr. O'Brien op-
poses coeducation on the ground that young
men in college can not spare time for social in-
tercourse. This argument pushed to its logi-
cal conclusion would do away with courtship
and marriage. The stress is severer in the
ten years that follow a young man's college
days than in any other period of his life. If
while at college he can not find time for court-
ship, he will not be able to afford it until he is
thirty-five years of age, and then it will be too
Coeducation and Marriage 73
late, because the inclination to marry will have
been greatly diminished before that time.
This is probably one of the reasons for the
abnormally high percentage of bachelors
among college graduates.
"But there are still more potent reasons to
be urged against late marriages. Many re-
ligious communities hesitate to accept candi-
dates after they are thirty years of age. Ex-
perience has proved that after this age a can-
didate can not readily adjust himself to the
new mode of life. The experience of rail-
roads and other large corporations leads them
to adopt a similar course. They refuse to
appoint to important positions men who are
over thirty-five years of age.
"The psychology underlying both of these
cases is the same. Such regulations constitute
a practical recognition of the fact that the
plastic period of man's life ends in his thirtieth
or thirty-fifth year. And if a woman finds it
impossible to adjust herself to the conditions
of a nun's life after she is thirty and a man
finds it diflUcult or Impossible to succeed in a
74 The Education of Our Girls
new line of business after he has reached
thirty-five, how can we expect them to rise
above the gross material things of life if the
development of the heart and of the aesthetic
faculties be delayed until after this period?
And above all, how can we expect two human
beings to blend into the unity of a single life
at the age of thirty who up to this time have
been so engrossed in the material things of life
as to be unable to afford even an occasional
hour to satisfy the promptings of the
heart?
"It is a very significant fact that the in-
crease in the number of divorces is in some di-
rect ratio to the average age at which people
marry. To delay marriage until man has first
won a position in the world is to render true
marriage impossible. Marriage should be the
preparation for lifers work and not its ter-
mination.**
"That is an argument worthy of a bache-
lor," said Mr. Eaton. "I believe I have heard
it said that old maids have the best children
in the world and that a doctor never takes his
Coeducation and Marriage 75
own medicine. Father Tom always used to
say that it was an unfair division of labor to
have the same man do the practicing and the
preaching. But if Professor Shannon had to
dig up the coin to support three or four young
men in college, to set them up in business, and
to furnish their offices, and to pay for style
for the first ten or twelve years while the
young professionals are waiting for clients, he
would probably not be in any hurry to become
a grandfather. No practical young man with
a proper amount of self-respect will think of
marrying until he has made a position for
himself which will enable him to support a
wife. There Is truth in the old saying, 'When
poverty comes in at the door, love flies out
through the window.' Running a home in
these days is too serious an undertaking for
youngsters. Let the young men and young
women enjoy life and freedom while they can,
the burdens and responsibilities will come soon
enough."
"Father Tom should be here to-night," said
the Doctor; *'his preaching of the Gospel of
76 The Education of Our Girls
Christ doesn't seem to have made a Christian
of Mr. Eaton. The argument to which we
have just listened is conclusive if we accept the
gospel of Mammon instead of the Gospel of
Christ. 'All these things will I give thee if
falling down thou wilt adore me.' But how
can we square such a line of reasoning with
the precepts of the Master? 'Do ye good,
therefore, hoping for nothing thereby.' 'Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His justice
and all these things will be added unto you.'
What doth it profit a man to gain the whole
world if he lose his own soul?' 'See the lilies
of the field how they toil not and neither do
they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed as one of these.' 'The life is
more than the meat, the body more than the
raiment.' We shall have to ask Father Tom
to preach a series of sermons for the special
benefit of some of his parishioners.
"But apart from the teaching of the Mas-
ter, I am afraid we shall find that such argu-
ments as that put forth by Mr. Eaton run
counter to the evidence furnished us by socio!-
Coeducation and Marriage 77
ogy and psychology. What great happiness
has ever come to men who make the acquisi-
tion of wealth their chief business of life? I
know many poor men who would not care to
change places with some of the multi-million-
aires who have recently come before the
public.
**I suppose none of us would find it difficult
to call to mind men who, like the fool in the
gospel, 'laid up much treasure for many years,'
and when they turned to enjoy their wealth
they were confronted with the sentence on the
wall, 'Fool, this day thy soul shall be de-
manded of thee.' When one of these men
would build a home for himself he must em-
ploy another's brain to design it for him. The
decoration of its interior reflects no thought of
his; even the private library is selected by
another's taste. The house is a prison, not a
home. He is as great a stranger in the bosom
of his own family as he is in the new mansion
constructed by his dollars. After all, we can
no more change the seasons of a man's life
than we can control the seasons of the year.
78 The Education of Our Girls
As he sows in the springtime of life so shall
he reap in its autumn.
^'During childhood and adolescence all
achievement derives its value from its rela-
tionship to the members of the home group.
During the twenties the ties which bound the
members of the home group into a solidarity
of thought, action and aspiration gradually
disappear. If the members of the family are
held together after this it is by artificial re-
straints. This is nature's way of dispersing
the children and leading them to build homes
of their own. But if new family ties are not
formed while the old ties are disintegrating,
the Individual Is likely to remain for the rest
of his days a solitary wanderer on the face of
the earth. From twenty to thirty is the period
of greatest fecundity; It is the termination of
the plastic period of life; It is the time within
which God has set His decree that man should
take unto himself a wife and that 'they shall
be two In one flesh,' and that 'they shall in-
crease and multiply and fill the earth.' "
"Granting the desirability of early mar-
Coeducation and Marriage 79
riages," said Miss Ruth, ''wouldn't it be well
for some one to collect the facts in the case, so
as to ascertain the effect of coeducation on the
marrying age? In some of our universities
we have had coeducation for more than a gen-
eration and It should not be difficult to tabu-
late the results.
"Professor Miinsterberg and many others
seem to be of the opinion that coeducation
does not promote early marriage. He has
many suggestive passages on the subject In this
article. Here, for Instance, Is one:*
" 'I take for granted that no American girl
loses In attractiveness by passing through a
college, or through other forms of the higher
and the highest education. But we have only
to look at the case from the other side, and
we shall find ourselves at once at the true
source of the calamity. The woman has not
become less attractive as regards marriage;
but has not marriage become less attractive to
the woman? and long before the Freshman
year did not the outer Influences begin to Impel
*Op. cit., p. 614.
8o The Education of Our Girls
in that direction? Does it not begin in every
country school where the girls sit on the same
bench with the boys, and discover, a long, long
time too early, how stupid those boys are?
Coeducation, on the whole unknown in Ger-
many, has many desirable features; it
strengthens the girls; it refines the boys; it
creates a comradeship between the two sexes
which decreases sexual tension in the years of
development; but these factors make, at the
same time, for an indifference toward the
other sex, toward a disillusionism, which must
show In the end.' "
"The eff'ects of coeducation and of higher
education on marriage and on home life,"
said Dr. Studevan, "are to-day subjects
of profound interest to every student of soci-
ology, but the hour is so late that I, at least,
shall have to forego the pleasure of further
discussion until our next meeting."
"^>
CHAPTER V
Symmetry in the Cultural Development of the
Sexes
As Mr. Eaton entered the library on Friday
evening, a few minutes after the usual time,
he found the other members of the little circle
in an expectant attitude.
"Mr. Eaton," said Mr. O'Brien, "the
members of this club have just gone over the
minutes of our last meeting and have decided
that, as this is a Christian club, you should
clear yourself of the charge of materiahsm of
which you stood convicted at the close of our
last meeting."
"I hope that accusation by Dr. Studevan
does not amount to conviction by this club.
Moreover, if we exclude from membership
in the Christian church all those who agree
with me in thinking that marriage should be
reserved for men and women who have
reached their full development and who are
82 The Education of Our Girls
in a position to build homes and support them
without relying on parental aid, I am afraid
that the falling off in the number of Chris-
tians will be greater than even our pessimists
would lead us to believe.
*'Dr. Studevan's dream of youths and
maidens seeking the rosy bowers of love be-
neath the classic shades of Alma Mater and
the resulting complications of valedictories
and graduating exercises with bridal veils and
wedding marches is too fantastic to find ac-
ceptance by practical men in these practical
days. Life has become too complex and the
struggle for existence too severe to admit of
such pastorals in real life. Miss Ruth gave
the argument a fine turn when she called in
Professor Miinsterberg to prove that coedu-
cation Is the new institution destined by Divine
Providence to keep the boys and girls from
seeking marriage until they have grown to
years of discretion."
"Professor Miinsterberg's argument," said
Miss Geddes, "is not likely to be accepted as
final. His ideal may perhaps suffice for the
Cultural Development of the Sexes 83
average German girl, who, he says, will marry
any one that she thinks will not make her un-
happy, but this ideal Is not destined to find
acceptance In this country. The American
girl has tasted freedom and will not again
allow the chains of ignorance to be fastened
on her soul, nor will she allow any one else to
choose for her a partner for life. The malice
of his whole argument is too near the surface :
woman must not be allowed to attend coedu-
cational Institutions lest in this way she should
gain such a clear insight into man's dullness
and coarseness as would make her refuse to
rescue him from his forlorn bachelor condi-
tion. The American girl very rightly refuses
to be led blindfolded into marriage bonds.
She Insists that man shall render himself
worthy of her before she accepts him."
^'Doesn't it seem about time," said Profes-
sor Shannon, "that some one came to Dr. Stu-
devan's rescue ? He has been strenuously op-
posing coeducation and advocating the higher
education of woman, and at the last meeting
of this club he appeared as the champion of
84 The Education of Our Girls
early marriage. Now, if Miinsterberg proves
anything In his article, it is that the chief ob-
stacle to early marriage in this country is the
higher education of woman. Since you have
all taken to quoting Miinsterberg, you will
not, I suppose, object to my reading a passage
from him.*
" ' Coeducation means only equality; but
the so-called higher education for girls means,
under the conditions of American life of
to-day, decidedly not the equality, but the su-
periority of women. In Germany, even the
best educated woman — with the exception
once more of the few rare and ambitious
scholars — feels her education inferior to that
of the young man of the same set, and thus
inferior to the mental training of her probable
husband. The foundations of his knowledge
He deeper, and the whole structure is built up
In a more systematic way. This Is true of
every one who has passed through a gymna-
sium, and how much more Is it true of those
who have gone through the university I Law,
*0p. cit. pp. 615, 616.
Cultural Development of the Sexes 85
medicine, divinity, engineering, and the aca-
demic studies of the prospective teacher are in
Germany all based essentially upon a scholarly
training, and are thus, first of all, factors of
general education, — powers to widen the hori-
zon of the Intellect. All this Is less true in
America; the lawyer, the physician, the
teacher, the engineer, obtain excellent prepa-
ration for the profession: but In a lower
degree his studies continue his general culture
and education; and the elective system allows
him to anticipate the professional training even
in college. And, on the other side, as for the
business man who may have gone through col-
lege with a general education in view — how
much, or better, how little of his culture can
be kept alive? Commerce and industry,
finance and politics absorb him, and the beau-
tiful college time becomes a dream; the intel-
lectual energies, the factors of general culture
become rusty from disuse; while she, the for-
tunate college girl, remains in that atmosphere
of mental Interests and Inspiration where the
power she has gained remains fresh through
86 The Education of Our Girls
contact with books. The men read newspa-
pers, and, after a while, just when the time for
marriage approaches, she Is his superior,
through and through, in intellectual refine-
ment and spiritual standards. And all this
we claim in the case of the man who has had
a college education; but the probability is very
great that he has not had even that. The re-
sult is a marriage in which the woman looks
down upon the culture of her husband; and,
as the girl instinctively feels that it is torture
to be the wife of a man whom she does not
respect, she hesitates, and waits, and shrinks
before the thought of entering upon a union
that has so few charms.'
"It seems quite clear that the higher educa-
tion of woman is the one great menace to our
social existence. It prevents marriage until
people are too old to enjoy each other, to
found permanent homes, or to raise families;
and to those who will not heed the warning,
and rashly enter the marriage state, it brings
misery for which the divorce court seems to
be the only relief. Labor troubles, mergers
Cultural Development of the Sexes 87
and frenzied finance compared with this are
but symptoms of transitory social disorders.
They bring to the surface evils that may be
remedied by proper legislation, but the higher
education of woman seems to portend the
rapid extinction of the race itself."
''One is hardly prepared for a flippant treat-
ment of so serious a subject as this from a so-
ciologist," remarked Miss Ruth.
"During all the long ages of our growing
civilization," said Dr. Studevan, "man mo-
nopolized higher education, nor did he seem
to find in this inequality of equals any cause
for delaying marriage until the fires of youth
were covered by the ashes of two score years.
The undisputed superiority of man in the
fields of culture and of higher education does
not seem to have loomed up largely as a source
of wedded infelicity. Even if the future
should witness a reversal of this condition and
woman should become man^s superior from
a cultural point of view, it is not easy to find
in this any good and sufficient reason why we
should not possess our souls in peace. Since
88 The Education of Our Girls
education In all its phases develops and refines
natural instincts, the higher the education and
culture of woman are carried, the more worthy
they will render her of marriage and of
motherhood.'^
"As I understand It," said Mr. O'Brien,
''higher education makes a woman a better
wife and mother, provided she Is married to
the right kind of man. 'Aye, there's the rub'
— to find the right husband for her. During
many years after the termination of his
school life the young man Is kept so busy down
on earth, looking after the substantial, get-
ting together the brick and mortar, and lining
the nest, that when at last he turns to look
for his mate It Is not consoling to him to be
told that the companions of his childhood
have soared on the wings of education into
the higher regions of culture where he may
never hope to follow. If he should ever suc-
ceed In capturing one of them, he mustn't hope
to domesticate her in the home that he has
labored so long to build. She will either
pine for the freedom that she has lost and
Cultural Development of the Sexes 89
die of a broken heart, or fly away with him
into her own native element. It is not sur-
prising that there are so few college men who
are willing to run the risk of being domesti-
cated to a superior woman. In her willing-
ness to sacrifice herself she will coach him for
an hour or two in the evening before going
out into society so that she may keep him
from making 'breaks' and disgracing her in
the eyes of her cultured companions. It is
quite angelic of her to condescend to write his
speeches for him and to help him form his
opinions on matters of current interest, but
somehow man doesn't thrive under these con-
ditions. Mr. Smith was a very different man
from Mrs. Smith's husband."
''College graduates," said Mr. Eaton,
"are not the only men who are suffering from
the higher education of women. The rural
population amongst whom I spent my boy-
hood days suffered very severely from the
over-education of the young women. Very
few of the young men enjoyed the opportu-
nity of getting a college education; while, with
90 The Education of Our Girls
the first wave of prosperity that reached the
neighborhood, the mothers sent their daugh-
ters off to convent schools. The boys were
kept at home to work the farms. Of course
it would have been unreasonable to expect the
young ladies to go back to the country and be-
come farmers' wives. They made acquaint-
ances in the cities and married young clerks
who knew how to dress and wax their mus-
taches. The young men, confronted with the
necessity of finding wives in the lower ranks
of society or remaining bachelors, sought con-
solation in the village saloon and ended, In
too many cases, by drifting into the cities and
increasing the army of the unemployed."
"It seems to me," said Dr. Studevan, "that
one may admit the evils which are said to
flow from the present inequality In the distri-
*bution of culture without becoming quite
hopeless of the ultimate salvation of our race.
Symmetry is a fundamental law of life and
all violations of it entail severe penalties. The
individual who misses symmetry in his devel-
opment need never hope to reach the highest
Cultural Development of the Sexes 9 1
planes of life. The whole man must grow
simultaneously. An over-development of any
one faculty is likely to interfere seriously with
the health and happiness of the individual.
This law of symmetrical development is as
rigid in its application to the development of
society as it is to the development of the indi-
vidual life. It was decreed from the begin-
ning that man and wife should no longer be
two separate units, but two in one flesh. It is
evident, therefore, that all unbalanced tenden-
cies in the development of this dual unity must
lead to suffering and limit growth.
"The history of all the great civilizations
of the past gives us a picture of man and wife
laboring under this difficulty. Man held the
ascendancy and attempted to lift himself to
the highest plane of culture, while, for the
most part, he neglected the cultural develop-
ment of his wife. When we come to under-
stand more thoroughly the causes of the rise
and fall of nations and of empires, we will
probably realize that this want of symmetry
in the mental and moral development of the
92 The Education o£ Our Girls
sexes has played no Inconsiderable part In the
extinction of antique civilizations. One of the
strongest elements In Christian civilization has
resulted from the position which Christianity
accords to woman. Christian marriage recog-
nizes the equality of man and woman. And if
Christian civilization has failed to develop
man as rapidly as might have been expected
from the purity and elevation of its teaching,
the explanation Is to be found in the strength
of Inherited tendencies. One of the slowest
of these tendencies to yield to the influence of
Christian teaching was that deeply ingrained
masculine conceit which refused to recognize
in woman a capacity for cultural development
equal to that of man."
"Now you seem to be talking sensibly,"
said Professor Shannon, "but the inevitable
conclusion of your argument Is the best pos-
sible refutation of the position that you have
maintained all along on the question of coedu-
cation. If symmetry and balance in the cul-
tural development of the sexes are the ideals
toward which we must strive, then coeduca-
Cultural Development of the Sexes 9 3
tion, not segregation, must be the line along
which we should travel.
"From your own admission, the develop-
ment of the race has been retarded during all
these centuries of Christian civilization by the
fact that the cultural development of man was
superior to that of woman; and the present
tendency, which is lifting the cultural devel-
opment of woman above that of man, is gen-
erally conceded to be a prolific source of social
evil of the gravest character. In the face of
truths like these it is somewhat difficult to un-
derstand how you can take the position that
you do in opposition to coeducation, which
would tend to keep the sexes on the same
plane, and in support of segregation, which
during all the long centuries of race develop-
ment has militated against the progress of
the race."
"That is the difficulty with you sociolo-
gists," said Dr. Studevan. "Perhaps it is due
to the embryonic condition of your science;
but, whatever be the cause, you seem to run
off with half-baked conclusions. My opposi-
94 The Education of Our Girls
tlon to coeducation was in no instance based
on a desire for inequality in the education of
the sexes. In all our conversations I have
steadfastly maintained that the aim of true
education should be the fullest development
of all the powers and faculties of the indi-
vidual.
"A sociologist might reasonably be ex-
pected to understand that men and women
were not designed by nature to be the dupli-
cates of each other. They differ from each
other profoundly in nature, in developmental
tendencies and in social functions. I oppose
coeducation because it seems to me to be based
on ignorance of these elemental truths. It
means for the most part the subjecting of our
girls to educational methods which were de-
vised to meet the needs of men, and which,
as a consequence, fail to develop the best that
is in woman.
"If the scene of coeducation were shifted
from the schools which were designed pri-
marily to meet man^s needs into convent
schools and academies, whose courses and
Cultural Development of the Sexes 95
methods grew out of the needs of women,
how long do you suppose our young men
would tolerate the situation? They would
not submit to methods, however well adapted
to meet women's needs, which failed so com-
pletely to harmonize with the forces In their
own natures. Whatever other results may be
produced by subjecting our girls to the cur-
riculum and methods which were devised to
meet the needs of the masculine nature, it is
perfectly certain that equality In the develop-
ment of the sexes cannot be obtained in this
way.
*'Would the advocates of coeducation have
us believe that the reason for the superiority
of man's education in the past is to be found
in the long prevalence of segregation? Do
they Imply that women's schools are incapable
of improvement or of further development?
Can woman find In herself no elements of
progress ? And must she forever turn to man
and beg him to carry her forward over every
step of the way? The prevalence of such
views Is a further evidence of the general
96 The Education of Our Girls
need of biological training. Adjustment of
Internal to external relations is an inalienable
right and a primal function of all living be-
ings. Whenever an external agency Is Intro-
duced to bring about this adjustment, degen-
eracy is the Inevitable result. Woman must
work out her own salvation in her own way.
All that man should be expected to do — all
that he can do without injury to her — Is to
provide the external means and conditions;
the actual adjustment must come from woman
herself."
^'Studevan must have had a training at the
bar," said Professor Shannon; "he has evi-
dently learned to talk all around a subject
when the evidence is against him. It Is ad-
mitted on all sides that during the long ages
when segregation prevailed the result was an
unbalancing of the education of the sexes,
which, even he was constrained to admit,
played an Important role In retarding the de-
velopment of the race. And now, under sim-
ilar conditions, there has resulted an unbal-
ancing in which the superiority of woman's
Cultural Development of the Sexes 97
education threatens the very existence of the
race. Segregation seems to lead to very poor
team work.
*'The Doctor has been very careful to avoid
pointing out any way by which equality may
be preserved In the education of men and
women who are segregated during the whole
period of Individual development. And he
makes a beautiful play for the support of the
ladles by advocating the higher education of
woman at a time when this same higher edu-
cation of woman Is causing the gravest alarm
to all those who are Interested in the welfare
of the race.''
*Trofessor Miinsterberg Is quite right,"
said Miss Ruth, "when he insists that a mar-
riage in which the woman looks down upon
the culture of her husband is not a success.
Every refined woman must feel It torture to be
the wife of a man whom she does not respect,
and this consideration, without doubt, is no
inconsiderable factor, at present, in delaying
marriage and in rendering it less frequent
among our highly educated women; but the
98 The Education of Our Girls
remedy for this Is surely not to be found in
retarding the cultural development of woman.
*'0n the contrary, this state of things should
act as a spur to man and thus help to keep
him from being submerged in commercialism
and in the gross materialism of the day. Our
young men are surely not so dead to all the
higher things of life that they will cease to
strive to become more worthy of the esteem
and love of cultured women.*'
"I hope," said Dr. Studevan, "that the ladies
do not take it for granted that Shannon reflects
the sentiments of all our young men. In the
progress of civilization there may always be
discerned two parties. One of these opposes,
on some pretext or other, every advance, every
progressive movement of society. The mem-
bers of this group never seem to understand
that life in all its phases is governed by an
inexorable law which Inflicts the death penalty
on all who do not move forward. The saints
and the great masters of the spiritual life
never ceased to urge this truth upon their fol-
lowers. Over and over again they warned
Cultural Development of the Sexes 99
them that not to go forward on the path of
holiness Is to enter upon the downward way.
And the biologist traces the beginnings of de-
generacy In every form of life to the moment
when the species ceased to advance.
"Our Lord Is the great leader of the pro-
gressive party. *LIft up your eyes, for the
kingdom of God Is at hand.' ^Follow Me and
let the dead bury their dead.' 'Those who
put their hand to the plow and look back are
not worthy of Me.' 'I have many things to
say to you but you cannot bear them now.'
*To what Is the kingdom of God like and
whereunto shall I resemble It ? It Is like unto
a grain of mustard seed which a man took and
cast Into his garden and It grew and became
a great tree.' All His teaching bade Israel go
forward Into the newness of life, Into the free-
dom of love and Into the peace of the king-
dom. Tou have heard . . . but I say to
you . . .' and again, 'The letter kllleth, It
Is the spirit that giveth life.' The Scribe and
the Pharisee, with their eyes turned to the
past, were unable to see the beauty which He
loo The Education of Our Girls
pointed out; and, with their ears filled with
the voice of the Prophets, they failed to hear
the great truths which He spoke to them and
their hate went out to Him and nailed Him to
the cross.
**We do not wonder that those who came
after Him met with similar treatment.
^Therefore, behold, I send to you Prophets
and wise men and Scribes : and some of them
you will put to death and crucify, and some
you will scourge in your synagogues, and per-
secute from city to city: that upon you may
come the blood of all the just that has been
shed upon the earth from the blood of Abel
the just to the blood of Zacharias, the son of
Barachias, whom you killed between the tem-
ple and the altar.' The leaders in the way of
life have ever been the victims of the malice
and the hatred of the ignorant and the slug-
gard in their own generation, and they have
been the saints and martyrs of all subsequent
generations.
"In the history of Christian civilization we
occasionally find a woman in the van of some
Cultural Development of the Sexes i o i
progressive movement; nor Is Jeanne d*Arc a
solitary Instance of the penalty which such
women pay for the privilege of serving their
people. No one need therefore be surprised
that a heavy penalty Is being Inflicted upon
woman In our day for her rashness In assum-
ing a position In the forefront of the cultural
development of our time. But her courage
will not fail her. The ignorant and the reac-
tionalre, with the whole company of those
who are so much exercised over the New
Woman and the Higher Education of Woman
and Woman's Rights, will disappear, and the
future will bless woman's memory and record
how she lifted man up from earth by the
beauty of her life and the example of her
noble courage In holding fast to that which is
good."
"Won't some one please pass round the
hat?" said Mr. Eaton.
CHAPTER VI
Man and fVoman Allies — Not Competitors
"Dr. Studevan," said Mr. Eaton, **what
have you done with Shannon? Have you
'mingled his blood with the blood of all the
just that has been shed upon the earth from
the blood of Abel the just to the blood of
Zacharias?' "
''No, it's not so bad as that," said Mr.
O'Brien. "The Professor telephoned a little
while ago that he would be late in arriving.
Dr. Studevan did seem to pick up the question
under discussion at the close of our last meet-
ing and fly off with it. He got it so mixed
up with prophets and apostles, with Jeanne
d'Arc and the martyrs, that I don't know
where we shall find it. But here is Shannon
now, perhaps he has it in charge."
"No, thank God, I have nothing in charge
but myself; what is it you've lost?"
Man and Woman Allies 103
''Coeducation versus the Higher Education
of Woman," said Miss Ruth. "Dr. Studevan
has just been accused of having soared away
with it into the clouds, and we hoped that you
had rescued it and brought it back to us, as
there are several phases of the question which
still need illumination."
"Oh," said Professor Shannon, "Studevan
is so buried in the schoolroom and in his peda-
gogical theories that he fails to see what must
be evident to every one else who keeps abreast
of the times. The Doctor needs a training in
sociology and economics and a little more con-
tact with the world where adults are engaged
in the struggle for existence. He would have
woman remain in the schools that from time
immemorial fitted her to adorn the home. He
evidently does not realize that to-day woman
is compelled to engage in many occupations
that man has heretofore regarded as exclu-
sively his own and for which he was trained
in the college and university. It must be evi-
dent to all familiar with the facts in the case
that the proper place for woman to receive a
I04 The Education of Our Girls
training for these positions is In the schools
that have been developed for this purpose."
"We are still confronted with the old puz-
zle," said Miss Ruth. "Dr. Studevan Is so
Impressed with the difference between the na-
tures of man and woman that he seems unable
to reconcile himself to their being trained in
the same schools and subjected to the same
methods; while Professor Shannon, believing
that the old distinction between the occupa-
tions of the sexes has, in large measure, ceased
to exist, would have both sexes educated in the
same schools. It is difficult to see how the two
sides of the question may be reconciled."
"There Is only one side to the question,"
said Miss Geddes. "We were all born free
and equal. Man has kept woman out of her
rights long enough. In a country that grants
freedom to the negro, woman can no longer
be kept in subjection. If her education In the
past has not fitted her to enjoy equal rights
with man, she Is determined that in the future
she will have an education which will not
only secure her an equal right to vote and to
Man and Woman Allies 105
make the laws under which she, as well as
man, must live, but which will secure for her
an equal share of the growing wealth of the
country. She distinctly refuses to be any
longer handicapped by a one-sided education."
*This whole discussion," said Mr. O'Brien,
''reminds me of Merrick's 'Chameleon,' which
we used to recite as school boys. I still re-
member some of the lines :
" 'Oft has it been my lot to mark
A proud, conceited, talking spark,
With eyes that hardly served at most
To guard their master 'gainst a post;
Yet round the world the blade has been.
To see whatever could be seen.
*****
'Two travelers of such a cast.
As o'er Arabia's wilds they passed,
*****
Discoursed awhile, 'mongst other matter,
Of the chameleon's form and nature.
*****
"How slow Its pace ! and then it's hue —
Who ever saw so fine a blue !" —
io6 The Education of Our Girls
"Hold there," the other quick replies,
" 'Tis green; I saw it with these eyes."
"I've seen It, sir, as well as you.
And must again affirm it blue."
" 'Tis green, 'tis green, sir, I assure ye."
"Green!" cries the other in a fury:
"Why, sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes?"
" 'Twere no great loss," the friend repHes;
"For if they always serve you thus.
You'll find them of but little use."
H: * ^ ^ ^
When, luckily, came by a third:
To him the question they referred.
And begged he'd tell them, if he knew,
Whether the thing was green or blue.
H: ^ Hs 9^ 3ic
"Sirs," cries the umpire, "cease your
pother.
The creature's neither one nor t'other.
I caught the animal last night.
And viewed it o'er by candle light;
I marked it well, 'twas black as jet."
Sp ^ ^ ^ ]|S
Man and Woman Allies 107
'^ 'He said: and full before their sight
Produced the beast, and lo ! — 'twas white.
" *Both stared; the man looked wondrous
wise:
"My children," the chameleon cries,
"You all are right, and all are wrong:
When next you talk of what you view,
Think others see as well as you :
Nor wonder if you find that none
Prefers your eyesight to his own.' "
"Your chameleon story is entirely irrele-
vant," said Miss Geddes. "In the present in-
stance we are confronted by conditions, not
theories. Whether the beautiful, clinging
creature of the past, of whom the poets sang,
was a more ideal wife than the strong, inde-
pendent woman of our own day may be left
to men's discussion at their clubs and smokers,
but woman must reach a conclusion and act
upon it. She must enter into active competi-
tion with man in the professions, in trade, in
commerce, and in all fields of human industry.
She has no room for hesitation between the
io8 The Education of Our Girls
education that fitted her for the position which
she occupied in the past and the education
which is at present being given to her com-
petitors. The advocates of segregation seem
to be dreaming of conditions which have
passed away forever, or else they are dishon-
est enough to wish to take an unfair advantage
of woman by trying to induce her to enter the
field of competition with a pitiably Inadequate
preparation."
"My dear Miss Geddes," said Dr. Stude-
van, "I am the last man in the world who
would contribute in any way to the handicap-
ping of woman in the struggle for existence.
"The profound changes which are taking
place at present in the social and economic
conditions of the country are pressing very
heavily on both sexes ; and I believe the pres-
sure of this change is more severe upon
woman than It is upon man. All phases of
education for both sexes must be readjusted
so as to properly equip men and women for
these new conditions. I have never advocated
a continuance of educational methods for
Man and Woman Allies 109
either sex which were shaped to meet con-
ditions that have ceased to exist, but surely one
may recognize this need of change in educa-
tional ideals and in educational methods with-
out thereby advocating an identity of ideals or
of methods in the training of pupils who differ
from each other in nature, in developmental
tendencies and in social functions, and who
are, after all, destined to occupy different
ground in the struggle for existence.
"A fundamental law of life seems to be
ignored by those who talk most about compe-
tition between man and woman. The little
green puddles by the roadside are crowded
with living beings, but they are not all com-
petitors. The plant forms, to which it owes
its green color, live upon the carbon dioxide
and nitrogenous waste matter, both of which
are supplied in large measure by minute ani-
mals, while these animals in turn depend upon
the oxygen and food material supplied by the
plants. These creatures are allies and not
competitors in the struggle for existence;
neither could long continue to live without the
1 1 o The Education of Our Girls
other. Plant competes with plant and animal
with animal. Competition always presup-
poses an identity of function.
*'Man and woman can never be competitors
in any true sense of the word; they were so
formed by nature as to be indispensable to
each other. The competition between them
is superficial and accidental. It is not sur-
prising, of course, that confusion prevails in
periods of social upheaval and violent eco-
nomic change. When the atmosphere clears,
woman will be found occupying a somewhat
different position from that which she has
occupied in the past, and man will still
find abundant room to live; and the mutual
helpfulness of the sexes will go on as
of old.
'The readjustment of educational methods
is one of the most serious problems which
confront us to-day, and it should be ap-
proached with calmness and with an entire ab-
sence of partisan feeling. The conditions of
the environment into which the pupils must
enter on leaving school should be kept con-
Man and Woman Allies 1 1 1
stantly in mind by those who undertake to
guide the unfolding life of the pupil. The
problems presented to a young woman on en-
tering into the life of one of our cities to-day
are very different from those presented to a
young man. His equipment would not enable
her to solve her problems. From whatever
point you view the matter, whether it be from
the differences of nature or the differences in
the positions which they occupy in the struggle
for existence, the conclusion would seem to be
that the education of the sexes should be car-
ried out along different lines. It is hard to
realize how any one who understands the ele-
mental truth that man and woman are by na-
ture and function allies and not competitors
in the struggle for existence could doubt this
conclusion."
''That reminds me of a good story I once
heard,'* said Miss Ruth, "about a little bird
called the Trochilus and its partnership with
the crocodile. 'The Trochilus renders two
forms of service to the crocodile on the banks
of the Nile ; it enters his mouth and dispatches
112 The Education of Our Girls
the worms and leeches which trouble him, and
when the Ichneumon, which Is an enemy to
the crocodile, approaches, the bird flies away,
giving vent to a peculiar cry which apprises
his friend of the danger. The only service
which the crocodile renders In return Is the
shaking of his tall when he wishes to close his
mouth, thus giving the bird warning.' "
*'Well," said Mr. O'Brien, "the coeduca-
tion— or rather the cooperation — Herodotus
illustrates in this story has at least this in its
favor, that It terminates in an indissoluble
union ; and, all present Indications to the con-
trary, there does seem to be something in the
hidden depths of woman's nature that is not
particularly averse to such combinations."
"Oh, of course," said Miss Geddes, "the
women of our day should devoutly accept
Emile as their gospel. I marked a passage
this afternoon which should be a wellspring
of consolation to us. Let me read It for you.
*0n the good constitution of mothers depends
that of children; on the care of woman de-
pends the first education of men; on woman
Man and Woman Allies 1 1 3
depend again their manners, their passions,
their tastes, their pleasures, and even their
happiness. Thus all the education of women
ought to be relative to men. To please them,
to be useful to them, to make themselves loved
and honored by them, to bring them up when
young, to care for them when grown, to coun-
sel and console them, to render their life
agreeable and sweet — these are the duties of
women In every age, and what they ought to
learn from their childhood. So long as we
do not recognize this principle, we shall miss
the end, and all the precepts we give them
will be of no service either for their happiness
or ours.' "
"Is that Idea so far wrong?" asked Dr.
Studevan. "You know the Gospel tells us
that we should love our enemies and do good
to those who hate us and pray for those who
persecute and calumniate us; and then, the
likeness of his Maker Is brought out in man's
heart just In proportion as he learns to act
from unselfish motives. In 'the ape and tiger'
world and In the world of Trenzled Finance'
1 1 4 The Education of Our Girls
self-interest rules supreme, but in the kingdom
of God man finds the secret of happiness in
the service of others. Now, woman being the
divinest creature on earth, we are prepared
to find her ready to immolate herself in every
way and on all occasions. She should be grate-
ful to man for his generosity in supplying her
with abundant opportunities for the devel-
opment of the divine impulses of her na-
ture."
^'Isn't it about time, Doctor," said Miss
Ruth, ''that woman gave man an opportunity
to immolate himself on the altar of sacrifice,
and thus to render himself worthy to dwell on
the same plane with her? She has had
a monopoly in this direction long enough.
But all this does not seem to have much to do
with coeducation. This is a practical age.
The experiment in coeducation is being made
and should we not rest the verdict on re-
sults?"
"Yes, I suppose we should," said Dr. Stu-
devan, "but it is not the first time in the history
of education that the experiment has been
Man and Woman Allies 115
tried. Plato was an ardent advocate of co-
education and he, too, reenforced his argu-
ment by appeals to experience. Have you a
copy of Plato, Mr. O'Brien ?''
"Yes. Which volume do you want?"
*'The one containing the 'Laws.' — ^Thank
you. — Here Is the passage I have In mind :
" 'My law would apply to females as well
as to males; they shall both go through the
same exercises. I assert without fear of con-
tradiction that gymnastic and horsemanship
are as suitable to women as to men. Of the
truth of this I am persuaded from ancient tra-
dition, and at the present day there are said
to be myriads of women In the neighborhood
of the Black Sea, called Sauromatldes, who
not only ride on horseback like men, but have
enjoined upon them the use of bows and other
weapons equally with men. And I further
affirm, that If these things are possible, noth-
ing can be more absurd than the practice
which prevails In our own country of men and
women not following the same pursuits with
all their strength and with one mind, and thus
1 1 6 The Education of Our Girls
the state, instead of being a whole, is reduced
to a half, and yet has the same imposts to pay
and the same toils to undergo; and what can
be a greater mistake for any legislator to
make ? . . . I should wish to say, Cleinias,
as I said before, that if the possibility of these
things were not sufficiently proven in fact,
then there might be an objection to the argu-
ment, but the fact being as I have said, he who
rejects the law must find some other ground of
objection; and, failing this, our exhortation
would hold good, nor will any one deny that
women ought to share as far as possible in
education and in other ways with men, for
consider; — if women do not share in their
whole life with men, then they must have
some other order of life. And what arrange-
ment of life to be found anywhere is prefer-
able to this community which we are now as-
signing to them. Shall we prefer that which
is adopted by the Thracians and many other
races who use their women to till the ground
and to be shepherds of their herds and flocks,
and to minister to them like slaves?' "
Man and Woman Allies 117
"I never before realized,'* said Miss Ruth,
"what an important part the Thracians took
in the development of western civilization."
"Say, rather, in shaping Dr. Studevan's
ideals of education," said Mr. O'Brien.
"On the contrary," said Dr. Studevan, "I
want man to mind his own business and to
tend his fields and flocks himself, leaving to
woman occupations more suited to her nature.
My ideal of education is more nearly the
legitimate descendant of those held by the
Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, and which
Plato quotes with apparent disapproval.
Here is the passage:
" *0r shall we do as the people in our part
of the world do? getting together, as the
phrase is, all our goods and chattels into one
dwelling — these we entrust to our women,
who are the stewards of them; and who pre-
side over the shuttles and the whole art of
spinning. Or shall we take a middle course, as
in Lacedaemon, Megillus, letting the girls
share in gymnastic and music, while the
grown-up women, no longer employed in spin-
1 1 8 The Education of Our Girls
ning wool, are actively engaged In weaving
the web of life, which will be no cheap or
mean employment, and In the duty of serving
and taking care of the household and bringing
up children, In which they will observe a sort
of mean, not participating In the tolls of war;
and If there were any necessity that they
should fight for their city and families, unlike
the Amazons, they would be unable to take
part in archery or any other skilled use of
missiles, nor could they, after the example of
the goddess, carry shield or spear, or stand
up nobly for their country when it was being
destroyed, and strike terror into their enemies,
if only because they were seen In regular or-
der? Living as they do, they would never
dare at all to imitate the Sauromatides, whose
women, when compared with ordinary women,
would appear to be like men. Let him who
will praise your legislators, but I must say
what I think. The legislator ought to be
whole and perfect, and not half a man only;
he ought not to let the female sex live softly
and waste money and have no order of life,
Man and Woman Allies 1 1 9
while he takes the utmost care of the male sex,
and leaves half of life only blessed with hap-
piness, when he might have made the whole
state happy.* "
''The women of to-day," said Mr. Eaton,
''remind one of the boy who paid a penny for
a piece of pie, and after the pie was disposed
of, came back crying for his penny. If they
want coeducation and suffrage they should go
all the way and take a hand in herding the
flocks and in digging the sewers, and they
should realize how it feels to become food for
powder."
"Your inference is hardly fair," said Pro-
fessor Shannon. "An education and an ap-
prenticeship to a trade are two quite different
things, and there is really no one in our midst
to-day, not even the most extreme advocate of
woman's rights, who would want women to
become locomotive engineers and miners, or
who would have them seek employment in
smelters or rolling mills. Besides, the ques-
tion of coeducation versus segregation is con-
cerned only with secondary and higher edu-
I20 The Education of Our Girls
cation, whose end is fullness of life and culture
rather than immediate preparation for those
occupations that demand physical strength
and powers of endurance. Plato was speaking
of primitive times and primitive conditions;
life has grown far too complex at present to
permit of the realization of his ideals in all
their details. All that he should be held re-
sponsible for is his main thought and that is
clearly in favor of coeducation."
"Are you quite sure,'' said Dr. Studevan,
*'that Plato is not here treating us to some of
his delicious sarcasm? Or is it to be supposed
that he was so wanting in appreciation of the
Athens of Pericles that he would seriously
hold up the Sauromatides and the Amazons as
models to be copied by the women of Greece?
I wonder if it has become the fashion among
sociologists to refer to the Athens of Pericles
and Plato as ^primitive.' Poor Plato, had he
lived fifty years later his distinguished pupil
would undoubtedly have acquainted him with
some of the fundamental concepts of life
which would have saved him from falling into
Man and Woman Allies 1 2 i
such grievous error on the subject of coedu-
cation.
*'But it is really strange, living in the home
of Phidias and feasting his eyes daily on the
marvels that came from the chisel of Prax-
iteles, that Plato could have so completely
missed the meaning of symmetry as not to
know that man and woman being symmetrical
parts of one whole cannot be substituted one
for the other. Of course Plato is not to be
blamed for his failure to grasp the fundamen-
tal life principle that all progress is dependent
upon progressive differentiation of structure
and specialization of function. If this great
central truth of modern biology had gleamed
ever so faintly on the horizon of Greek
thought, Plato would never have lent himself
to the Sauromatldes and the Amazons in their
struggles to obliterate the lines of difference
along which nature seeks to develop the sexes."
"Would it be troubling you too much,
Doctor," said Mr. Eaton, "to translate all
that into plain English?"
"Why, how cruel of you, Mr. Eaton," said
122 The Education of Our Girls
Miss Geddes, "to ask the Doctor to come out
of the mists of biological phrases in which he
so loves to dwell, and in which he is seen to
such advantage this evening against the irides-
cent background of Greek culture."
"On the contrary, my dear Miss Geddes, it
always gives me a thrill of genuine pleasure to
expose to your discerning eye the innermost
core of my thoughts dressed in the most trans-
parent language at my command. The two
thoughts which Plato would seem to have
missed and which are among the truths most
familiar to all students of nature are these:
first, symmetrical parts of a body are related
to each other in the same way that an object
is related to its mirrored reflection ; there is the
closest resemblance between them in one way
and yet they are irreconcilably different. I
am frequently made aware of this truth when,
in my hurry in the morning, I get my right
foot into my left shoe, and still I have always
believed that my feet were mates. Now, man
and woman are related to each other in their
conscious life in somewhat the same way. It
Man and Woman Allies 123
requires two to round out and complete hu-
man consciousness.
'Tlato seems to have been moved by purely
utilitarian motives, as if he were wont to fre-
quent 'Dollardom' instead of the Acropolis.
He was evidently anxious to keep down the
taxes while adding to the number of warriors,
but if I were a woman I would never forgive
him for hinting that if women were seen in
order they 'would strike terror into their ene-
mies.' The poor fellow must have been car-
rying in his memory a vivid picture of Xan-
tippe in some of her unlovely moods.
"The second thought that seems to have
offended by its biological mist or its Greek
iridescence has been explained in so many
ways that it really has come to be a common-
place. But it might be illustrated in this way :
the integument of an earthworm serves both
as a protection against foreign substances and
as an organ of respiration. Now, the tougher
it is, the better it performs the first of these
functions, and the more delicate it is, the bet-
ter it performs the latter, and since both of
1 24 The Education of Our Girls
these functions must be performed by one and
the same structure, they are both performed
badly. The crayfish and the lobster solve this
problem in another way. Their bodies are
encased in hard outer coverings which give
efficient protection. A small portion of the
outer surface of these creatures is rendered
exceedingly delicate and is protected under a
fold of the carapace, where it is able to dis-
charge efficiently the function of respiration.
The analogy here to the function of man and
woman in the social organism is suggestive.
Man has become hardened and toughened and
is thus enabled to sustain the shock of contact
with the outer world ; while woman, protected
in the home, has developed all the finer traits
of culture, of delicacy, of tact and of sweet-
ness, without which life would be poor indeed
for all of us.'*
CHAPTER VII
The Social Claim
"Dr. Studevan," said Miss Ruth, "I find it
hard to believe that you were serious last Fri-
day evening In quoting Plato and in citing
the experience of two thousand five hundred
years ago as a guide to our present educational
efforts. Granted that the Athens of Pericles
and Plato had attained a high degree of civili-
zation, yet their experiments in coeducation
can have little value to-day when viewed in
the light of the vast difference between their
civilization and ours. The women of to-day
would refuse to accept the position accorded
to woman in the Greek civilization of those
days."
"You are quite right," replied Dr. Stude-
van, "we can not copy the past. The educa-
tion that sufficed in Plato's day or even In the
time of Rousseau would be entirely Inadequate
to meet present conditions. But, In spite of
126 The Education of Our Girls
all that may be said of changed conditions and
of the need of modern methods to cope with
the conditions of the present, there Is a valid-
ity In the historical argument. It Is true that
history never quite repeats Itself, In education
or elsewhere; nevertheless, there Is an under-
lying stratum of sameness, and this is precisely
the important thing when we are dealing with
a question such as coeducation, which rests on
the basic laws of human nature.
"I have no desire, however, to rest the ver-
dict exclusively on the historical evidence. I
am quite content that this problem should be
worked out in the present. As you have said,
the experiment is being made on a rather large
scale in many of our universities, and I am
well aware that whatever may be our antece-
dent prejudice, or whatever the past may have
to say about the question, our course in the
future will be determined, In large measure,
by the results of this experiment. But it Is
well to remember that experiment here, as
elsewhere, does not dispense with the necessity
for examining the theoretical side of the ques-
The Social Claim 127
tlon. Experiments in education, as In other
fields of science, are fruitful only when they
are studied in the light of principles and theo-
ries.
*'Now, the supreme need of the school to-
day is adjustment to present social and eco-
nomic conditions, but in this work of adjust-
ment I can find no reason to believe that
schools for women have less vitality and less
power of adjustment than schools for men."
''On this phase of the subject," said Profes-
sor Shannon, "Jane Addams will be accepted
as an unimpeachable witness. No one has
ever questioned her singleness of purpose.
Her work in social settlements gives her the
right to speak with authority on the present
social and economic conditions of women in
our industrial centers. Her book on 'Democ-
racy and Social Ethics' should form an inte-
gral part of this discussion, and I make a mo-
tion that every member of this club be required
to read it. The book doesn't lend itself to
quotation, but as I remember the outline of
the chapter on Tilial Relations,' she at least
128 The Education of Our Girls
implies that the hope of the new social adjust-
ment for woman is bound up with coeduca-
tion.'*
*'Here is the volume," said Mr. O'Brien.
"I must confess that I have read the book
through without gaining that impression."
"Well, as I have said. Miss Addams does
not take up the subject for explicit treatment,
but the implication is clear enough. For In-
stance, on page 83 she says : 'Modern educa-
tion recognizes woman quite apart from
family or society claims, and gives her the
training which for many years has been
deemed successful for highly developing a
man's individuality and freeing his powers for
independent action.' She Is evidently here
thinking of universities and coeducational in-
stitutions."
''Professor Shannon, won't you please con-
tinue that quotation?" asked Dr. Studevan.
"As I remember the argument. Miss Addams
seems to be conscious In a dim way of the
failure of coeducation."
"No, it is not that," replied the Professor;
The Social Claim i 29
''she simply emphasizes the distress of woman
in trying to adjust this newly awakened life
to the survival of rigid social institutions. But
here is the passage: 'Perplexities often occur
when the daughter returns from college and
finds that this recognition has been but par-
tially accomplished. When she has attempted
to act upon the assumption of its accomplish-
ment she finds herself jarring upon Ideals
which are so entwined with filial piety, so
rooted in the tenderest affections of which the
human heart is capable, that both daughter and
parents are shocked and startled when they dis-
cover what Is happening, and they scarcely
venture to analyze the situation. The Ideal for
the education of woman has changed under the
pressure of a new claim. The family has re-
sponded to the extent of granting the educa-
tion, but they are jealous of the new claim
and assert the family claim as over against it.
" 'The modern woman finds herself edu-
cated to recognize a stress of social obligation
which her family did not In the least anticipate
when they sent her to college. She finds her-
130 The Education of Our Girls
self, In addition, under an Impulse to act her
part as a citizen of the world. She accepts
her family Inheritance with loyalty and affec-
tion, but she has entered Into a wider Inheri-
tance as well, which, for lack of a better phrase,
we will call the social claim. This claim has
been recognized for four years In her training,
but after her return from college the family
claim Is again exclusively and strenuously as-
serted. The situation has all the discomfort
of transition and compromise.'
"Will any one deny that the freeing of
woman from the narrow confines of home and
the bringing Into her consciousness of the so-
cial claim has been a distinct advance? Or
will any one deny that this advance has been
brought about by woman's attendance at co-
educational Institutions?"
"Well," said Dr. Studevan, "I never like
to play the role of the denier; but I feel con-
strained to put In a distinct denial to this latter
claim and just as distinct a denial to the Impli-
cations of the former claim. Both of these
claims are valid and both have been recog-
The Social Claim 131
nized as such from the beginning of Christian
civilization. To coeducational institutions be-
longs the credit of confusing them, and on
these institutions rests the responsibility for
the consequent discomfort.
"St. Paul clearly announced different voca-
tions for different members of the 'kingdom'
when he said : 'To one, Indeed, by the spirit,
is given the word of wisdom; to another, the
word of knowledge, according to the same
spirit; to another, faith In the same spirit; to
another, the grace of healing In one spirit; to
another, the working of miracles; to another,
prophecy; to another, the discerning of spirits;
to another, divers kinds of tongues; to
another, the interpretation of speeches. But
all these things one and the same spirit
worketh, dividing to every one according as
he will.'
'The Church demands of her children loy-
alty to the spirit of their vocation. Those
who are called to the duties of home life will
find their happiness In the faithful discharge
of those duties, and those who feel the pres-
132 The Education of Our Girls
sure of the social claim are urged to follow the
call with no less loyalty and devotion ; and all
are warned that 'any kingdom divided against
itself shall fall.'
"One would Imagine from listening to the
passage from Miss Addams which you have
just read that woman's recognition of the so-
cial claim Is a recent affair. How then, may
I ask, will you account for the sisterhoods In
the Catholic Church? Will you let me have
the book for a moment? — I find this passage
on page 77. 'Our democracy Is making In-
roads upon the family, the oldest of human
institutions, and a claim Is being advanced
which In a certain sense Is larger than the
family claim. The claim of the state In time
of war has long been recognized, so that in
its name the family has given up sons and
husbands and even the fathers of little chil-
dren. If we can once see the claims of society
in any such light, if its misery and need can
be made clear and urged as an explicit claim,
as the state urges its claims in the time of
danger, then for the first time the daughter
The Social Claim 133
who desires to minister to that need will be
recognized as acting conscientiously.'
"The surprising thing about this statement
Is the Implication that the recognition Is to be
a thing of the future, whereas, as a matter of
fact, Its recognition by the Church In the past
Is responsible for many of the most glorious
pages In human history.'*
''That is the view Dr. Shahan takes In his
chapter on 'Woman In Early Christian Com-
munities,' " said Miss Ruth. "Have you his
'Beginnings of Christianity,' Mr. O'Brien?
Let me read you this passage. After speak-
ing of Christ's affection for women and Httle
children, he continues on page 158:
" 'In return the women of the Jews were
His staunchest defenders. Some, like Salome,
the wife of Zebedee, clung to Him from the
beginning to the end. Others, like Joanna,
the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward, and Su-
sanna gave of their riches for His support,
went about with Him and the apostles through
cities and towns wherever the good news was
spread by the Master. They anointed His
134 The Education of Our Girls
head and feet; they rejoiced more than all
others when He rode triumphantly into Jeru-
salem; they sorrowed at the gathering clouds
which were soon to burst over Him; they
stood afar off and wept as He passed on to
His doom ; they remained when all others had
fled; they were the first at the sepulcher, the
first human witnesses of the resurrection, the
first apostles of Christianity, since it was they
who first carried the glad tidings that Jesus
liveth forevermore, and that faith in Him and
His promises is neither vanity nor delusion.
" 'By a law of history the great institutions
which most affect mankind bear always certain
Ineffaceable earmarks of their origins — the
aroma, as It were, of their primitive surround-
ings and the best indices of the spirit and aims
of their founders. The female sex, which
plays so conspicuous a part in the life of
Christ, is no less active in the earliest forma-
tive period of His church. . . . When
Peter was delivered by the angel it was to the
house of Mary, the mother of John Marcus,
that he went, where many were gathered to-
The Social Claim 135
gather and praying. After the dispersion of
the apostles we find in the meager record of
their history numerous facts that show how
important a share women had in the success
of their evangelical labors. The Lady Electa
would seem, according to the second epistle of
St. John, to have been the center of an im-
portant community.
" 'I need only to refer to the ancient and
venerable local traditions of Rome which pre-
serve the memory of the relations between
St. Peter and the females of the House of
Pudens, and those which concern the ancient
house of Prisca on the Aventine. The Chris-
tian world has never seen devotion superior to
that which the earliest Christian matrons of
Rome manifested. Their praises are in
Clement of Rome and the Shepherd of Her-
mas, L e., in the earliest non-canonical litera-
ture of the Christians. But it is In the life of
St. Paul that the Christian female apostolate
finds Its best-known models. This time they
are taken not from the Jewish and Syrian
women, the Galilean neighbors of Christ, and
136 The Education of Our Girls
the female relatives of rough fishermen, but
from among the elegant and refined society of
Greek cities. . . .
" 'He speaks of his "sincere companion"
and the other women who have labored with
him and Clement In the gospel, and whose
names are written In the book of life. Among
the most distinguished of his Athenian con-
verts was the woman named Damarls. In the
epistle to the Romans he gives us an Insight
into the little circle of females whom he had
not yet seen, but whose reputation for Chris-
tian zeal had gone abroad, like the faith of
the Romans, into the whole world. There is
his helper in Christ, Prisca, the same as Pris-
cilla, the Roman Jewess, who, with her hus-
band, Aquila, had befriended Paul during
their exile at Corinth, who laid down their
necks for him, and to whom all the churches
of the Gentiles were Indebted. There is Mary,
"who hath labored much among you." '
"After continuing the enumeration of the
women who helped St. Paul in his labors, the
Doctor goes on to say :
The Social Claim 137
*' 'This Is a precious page from the earliest
records of Christianity, and the names of
women are Inscribed on It In Immortal lines.
They are the mothers of the Infant churches,
the laborers, the helpers, the ministers, the
providers, and the consolers. They are
ranked by the apostle for devotion and hard
work with the bishops and priests and chief
men of his missions. From the women of
Rome and PhlllppI he no doubt received a
very large share of the funds he expended on
his missions and charities. They kept alive
his teachings and sought out new hearers for
the word of truth. By a delicate and subtle
Instinct woman recognized from the beginning
all that Christianity meant for her, and no one
labored with more zeal and Intelligence to
spread and explain the new teachings which
recognized In her an equal and opened such
Illimitable avenues to the exercise of her pe-
culiar virtues and capabilities. In all the cul-
ture lands bathed by the waters of the
Mediterranean thousands of females, very
frequently of the highest classes, enrolled
138 The Education of Our Girls
themselves under the banner of Jesus and pro-
ceeded to revolutionize the ethnic inner life
of as many thousand families.' "
*'That is a splendid argument for coeduca-
tion," said the Professor. *^It proves that
Christianity itself is essentially coeducational.
Christ did not separate women from men and
present the Gospel to them in a form suited to
the peculiarities of each sex. And as to the
apostles, they not only taught mixed audiences,
but they associated with themselves in their
apostolic work many of the noble and earnest
women whom they converted to Christianity.'*
"But did not all these women in early
Christian times, and multitudes of others in
the centuries that followed, recognize the so-
cial claim?" asked Dr. Studevan. "And still
Miss Addams writes : 'If we can once see the
claims of society in any such light, if its misery
and need can be made clear and urged as an
explicit claim!'
"What misery and what need of society has
remained to be made clear to the daughters of
the Church ? And when have Catholic fathers
The Social Claim 139
and mothers failed to recognize that their
daughters who give up home and family to
minister to these needs are acting conscien-
tiously? When man went out to battle to
slay his brothers, woman followed to care for
the wounded and to console the dying. When,
before the days of preventive medicine, men
fled in terror from the plague, the Sister of
Charity remained to minister to the stricken.
When advancing civilization banished the
lepers to Molokal, the Sisters of St. Francis
went Into voluntary exile that they might min-
ister to their needs. How many a wayward
girl has been rescued from a life of shame by
the Sisters of the Good Shepherd! There Is
no more familiar spectacle in our city streets
than the Little Sisters of the Poor collecting
alms to provide for deserted old age. And
multitudes of the flower of Catholic woman-
hood In every age have recognized the voice
of God In the call to larger social duties and
have devoted themselves to the education of
our children and to the care of the foundling
and the orphan.
140 The Education of Our Girls
"From the standpoint of social develop-
ment, I am afraid that even the soldier who
leaves home to fight for his country does not
show to the best advantage when contrasted
with these women In the sacrifices which they
make In leaving homes, often of luxury and
ease, to devote themselves In poverty to a life
of unremitting toll in ministering to social
needs. All this splendid development of
woman and this adjustment to the social needs
of the times came from women's schools for
women. Coeducational Institutions have yet
to prove their capacity for developing such
splendid vocations to social service."
"Doctor, are you not giving undue credit
to women's schools?" asked Miss Ruth. "The
vocations to social service of which you speak
are not due to segregated schools any more
than they are due to coeducational institu-
tions; they are the fruits of Christianity Itself;
they are woman's offering In token of her
gratitude for the victories that Christianity
has won for her. It Is a familiar theme, but
woman's heart still overflows with gratitude
The Social Claim 141
for the gift of freedom that Christ brought to
her. Dr. Shahan makes the fact very clear
that woman's elevation to her true place beside
man is due neither to philosophy nor to the
generosity of man, nor to the constitutions and
curricula of schools and colleges, but to the
religion which Christ came Into the world to
teach. Let me read you another page from
Dr. Shahan's 'Beginnings of Christianity' :*
" *A great Christian writer has said that of
all the victories of Christianity there is none
more salutary and necessary, and at the same
time none more hardly and painfully won,
than that which it has gained — gained alone
and everywhere — though with a daily re-
newed struggle, over the unregulated inclina-
tions which stain and poison the fountains of
life. Its divinity here shows Itself by a tri-
umph which no rival philosophy, no adverse
doctrine, has ever equaled or will ever aspire
to equal.
" 'The improvement of the lot of woman
was surely the greatest social conquest of the
*Page 167.
142 The Education of Our Girls
religion of Christ — greater even than the alle-
viation and abolishment of slavery. On it, as
on a corner stone, arose the new Christian
society. Aristotle long since remarked that
wherever the institutions that concern the fe-
male sex are faulty, the state can enjoy only a
very imperfect prosperity, for the family rela-
tions are the great beams on which society
reposes, and whatever tends to strengthen
them makes in the same measure for the solid-
ity of the social framework that rests thereon.
This fundamental truth had become greatly
obscured in the pre-Christian ages. With a
few honorable and partial exceptions the con-
dition of woman was everywhere that of a
weak and degraded being, unequal to man,
existing only for his pleasure and utility.
'The Christian doctrine," says Balmes in his
"European Civilization," "made the existing
prejudices against woman vanish forever; it
made her equal to man by unity of origin and
destiny and in the participation of the heavenly
gifts; it enrolled her in the universal brother-
hood of man with his fellows and with Jesus
The Social Claim 143
Christ; It considered her as the child of God,
the coheiress of Jesus Christ; as the compan-
ion of man and no longer a slave and the vile
Instrument of pleasure. Henceforth that
philosophy which had attempted to degrade
her was silenced; that unblushing literature
which treated woman with so much Insolence
found a check In the Christian precepts and a
reprimand no less eloquent than severe In the
dignified manner In which all the ecclesiastical
writers, In Imitation of the Scriptures, ex-
pressed themselves on woman." ' *'
"I acknowledge, Miss Ruth, that I am
fairly cornered. My enthusiasm betrayed me
Into an untenable position. As a matter of
fact, I am in entire agreement with you and
Dr. Shahan. Of course woman does not owe
her position, either social, moral or Intel-
lectual, to any system of pedagogy or to any
form of educational Institution as such. Her
regeneration Is the direct result of the pure
and noble teachings of Christ and of His
Church. However, In the actual conditions
which confront us there Is a connection,
144 T'he Education of Our Girls
whether it be accidental or not, between the
doctrines of Christianity that elevated woman
and the question of Coeducation versus Segre-
gation. In such coeducational institutions as
the universities of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, etc., religion is banished from the
classroom. The spirit of Christ and the up-
lifting influence of His teaching is not felt
within the walls of these institutions; their
atmosphere Is materialistic; their aim is prac-
tical; their philosophy Is that of a material
world that more closely resembles the philoso-
phy of pagan Greece and Rome, which de-
graded woman, than It does the doctrine of
Christ, which purified and ennobled her.
*'As the case stands, however, the only
schools for our Catholic young women that
continue to breathe the spirit of Christ and to
inculcate His teachings are the convent
schools. Unfortunately, many of our young
women are flocking to the universities In search
of truth. They may find the truths of math-
ematics and of the natural sciences, but they
breathe a poisoned atmosphere, and 'What
The Social Claim 145
doth It profit a man If he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?' "
"Is not that an extremely narrow position
for a university professor to take?" asked
Miss Geddes. "What of the army of public
school teachers, multitudes of whom have
been trained In coeducational Institutions?
Are they all devoid of religion and sunk In
materialism, or is their social service less meri-
torious because they dress as ordinary mor-
tals? Does virtue need to be togged out In
special trappings to be recognized?"
"My dear Miss Geddes, It grieves me sorely
that you should think me narrow, but If I must
choose between the two accusations, I prefer
to be considered narrow rather than superfi-
cial. But in reality I am the last man In the
world that would consciously detract from the
merit of our public school teachers. All my
life I have been filled with admiration for
them and filled with Indignation against the
meanness of a public spirit that compensates
them so poorly for the magnificent service they
render society. We must remember, however,
146 The Education of Our Girls
that coeducational institutions have not a mo-
nopoly In the training of public school
teachers. Many of the ablest members of
this splendid army of women received their
education In convents or In other schools for
women.
"I would gladly avoid contrasting the ser-
vices of two bodies of women to each of which
society owes so deep a debt of gratitude, but,
if comparison must be made, I think we shall
find that the social service of the Sister who
teaches in our parish school is of a higher or-
der than that rendered by the public school
teacher. In the first place, a large percentage
of public school teachers devote themselves to
this service temporarily. Multitudes of them
teach for a few years only and then marry and
devote the remainder of their lives to home
duties. Whereas, teaching is to the Sister the
consecration of a lifetime. And however
meager the compensation of the public school
teacher, It is usually several times as great as
that of the Sister.
"Moreover, while the labor of the public
The Social Claim 147
school teacher Is undoubtedly severe, It does
not begin to compare In severity with that of
the Sister, who, in addition to her work In
school, must devote several hours a day to the
exercises of the religious life which are
deemed necessary to sustain her In her exalted
vocation. She must rise at four or five o'clock
in the morning to attend community exercises :
morning prayers, meditation, Mass, and
divine office. She has accomplished a good
day's work before she reaches the schoolroom.
Then, after the exhausting labors of the day
In a crowded room, she must devote several
hours to household duties. Her Income is
usually too scant to permit her to employ ser-
vants."
*'It Is Inhuman," said Mr. Eaton, *'to place
such Intolerable burdens upon the poor Sisters.
Why Is not the labor divided among them?
Should not some of the Sisters devote them-
selves exclusively to the work of teaching,
leaving to others the household cares?"
"There are two very good reasons militat-
ing against such a desirable division of labor,"
148 The Education of Our Girls
replied Dr. Studevan. "In the first place, the
salary paid to the Sisters who teach is not suffi-
cient to support other Sisters who would de-
vote themselves to household cares, and there
is frequently no other source of revenue avail-
able; and secondly, there are not nearly
enough Sisters to supply the demand for
teachers."
"I do not wish to detract in any way from
the heroic self-sacrifice of the good Sisters,"
said the Professor, "but all this seems to be
irrelevant to the question under consideration.
We are concerned here, not with the sacrifice
of the individual teacher, whether she be a
Sister or a public school teacher, but with the
quality and the intrinsic value of the social
services rendered. If the public school teacher
devotes all her power and energy to the work
of the school, whereas the Sister, from what-
ever cause, diverts a large share of her time
and energy to other duties, it is evident that
the Sister's service in the schoolroom will be
proportionately lowered in quality — unless
you invoke supernatural intervention to sup-
The Social Claim 149
ply the place of the diverted human
energy."
"Well, even if we admit this for the sake of
argument," said Miss Ruth, "the remedy is
to be found in a more generous support of the
Sisters' efforts. It is quite evident that some-
thing should be done in this direction in order
that society may receive the full benefit and
blessing of the Sisters' service. Their numbers
should be increased and they should receive a
more generous compensation. In this land of
plenty it is a crime to burden the Sisters with
household cares when there is an army of girls
willing to do this work for very modest wages.
"In addition to the disadvantages which
Dr. Studevan has just pointed out, the Sisters
are hampered in many other ways. They fre-
quently have a much larger number of pupils
in a room than would be permitted in the pub-
he schools; and, where the population is
sparse, the same teacher often has to teach
several grades. And it not infrequently hap-
pens that they are unable to procure the
proper appliances; even their libraries are
150 The Education of Our Girls
meager, and it Is only with the greatest
amount of sacrifice that they are enabled to
assemble at rare intervals for institute work,
or to secure the requisite talent to conduct the
institute and to keep them in touch with the
latest developments in educational methods.'^
"Here's a chance for you, Mr. Eaton," said
Mr. O'Brien. "Divine Providence has been
good to you and has multiplied beyond meas-
ure your herds and flocks. Here's your
chance ! Don't build libraries for an unappre-
ciatlve public, but do something right hand-
some for the Sisters. Establish a fund that
will help in some way to lighten the burden of
these public benefactors or help them to
realize their lofty aspirations by endowing for
them a normal institute."
"Well, I'll think it over — but what are a
few little fishes among so many? If you will
help me to get together a few men of means,
we may be able to do something that Is worth
while."
"Now, Mr. Eaton, that's worthy of you,"
said Dr. Studevan. "I'll take back all I said
The Social Claim 151
against you a few evenings ago and I will even
withdraw my charge of materialism. All that
was asked of the rich young man in the Gos-
pel, you know, was that he should sell all that
he possessed and distribute it among the poor.
We won't ask so much of you; if you will
just dispose of some of your superfluous
wealth to help these struggling Sisters in their
heroic efforts for the public welfare, instead of
leaving it behind you to demoralize your sons,
the prayers of a grateful people, generation
after generation, will ascend to the throne of
the Giver of all good gifts and draw down
abundant blessings upon your posterity."
"This is all very well," said Professor
Shannon, "and I want to add my congratula-
tions, but it has taken us away from the ques-
tion at issue. Studevan, as usual, dodged the
point. We are concerned with the quality of
the social service rendered and not with the
sacrifices made by individuals in order to ren-
der the service. Now, it is clear that the pub-
lic school teacher who devotes all her time and
energy to the work of teaching should be able
152 The Education of Our Girls
to do it better than the Sister whose energy Is
drawn off In large measure by other occupa-
tions, which, however meritorious or neces-
sary In themselves, have nothing to do with
teaching."
"I really had no Intention of dodging the
point. Professor. You surely will not blame
a man for pausing to give some slight expres-
sion to the enthusiasm that generous deeds,
even In their proposal, awaken In the human
heart. But, to return to your question, I still
maintain that the quality of the Sisters' work,
in spite of all the drawbacks under which they
labor, and prescinding from all the sacrifices
that they make, Is of a higher order than the
social service rendered by the public school
teachers.
*'If Miss Geddes will pardon me for re-
turning to the biological mists, I will again
quote the fundamental principle that all ad-
vance of life to higher planes is conditioned
upon a progressive differentiation of structure
and specialization of function. We recognize
this principle everywhere else : in industry and
The Social Claim 153
commerce, In the various professions and In
the elective curricula of our colleges and uni-
versities. In proportion as society grows In
complexity of structure, there Is felt an In-
creasing need of vocations to social service."
*'What has all this to do with the ques-
tion?" asked the Professor. *'Is not teach-
ing In the public school a special func-
tion quite as much as teaching In the convent
school?"
"If you will bear with me a minute. Pro-
fessor, I will try to make my thought so clear
that even you may grasp It. Man, In the
savage state. Is concerned chiefly with himself
and with the members of his Immediate fam-
ily. Self-preservation here expresses Itself In
the care of the Individual and In the propaga-
tion of the species.
"These are the deepest and strongest Instincts
In human nature. As man advances In civili-
zation, instinct, reenforced by human reason,
causes him to extend his care and solicitude to
the tribe or clan. But as man reaches the
higher planes of civilized life, tribal lines tend
154 The Education of Our Girls
to become obliterated and patriotism mani-
fests itself and the need of the state in time
of danger has for him a more potent voice
than that of either tribe or family. And thus,
as man becomes ethical, he finds himself en-
gaged in a conflict with the deeper and nar-
rower instincts of his nature. Now, the high-
est function of education is to strengthen and
develop the ethical element in man. Let me
read for you a brief description of this proc-
ess from the pen of Thomas Huxley, who
will not be accused of special pleading in be-
half of the Church or her institutions.
" 'For his successful progress, through the
savage state, man has been largely indebted to
those qualities which he shares with the ape
and tiger; his exceptional physical organiza-
tion; his cunning, his sociability, his curiosity,
and his imitativeness ; his ruthless and fero-
cious destructiveness when his anger is roused
by opposition. But, in proportion as men have
passed from anarchy to social organization,
and in proportion as civilization has grown in
worth, these deeply ingrained serviceable
The Social Claim 155
qualities have become defects. After the
manner of successful persons, civilized man
would gladly kick down the ladder by which
he has climbed. He would be only too pleased
to see "the ape and tiger die." But they de-
cline to suit his convenience; and the unwel-
come Intrusion of these boon companions of
his hot youth Into the ranged existence of civil
hfe adds pains and griefs, Innumerable and
Immeasurably great, to those which the cosmic
process necessaflly brings on the mere animal.
In fact, cIvIHzed man brands all these ape and
tiger promptings with the name of sins; he
punishes many of the acts which flow from
them as crimes and. In extreme cases, he does
his best to put an end to the survival of
the fittest of former days by the axe and
rope.'*
"The development of the ethical element
and the production of vocations for Its culti-
vation are, therefore, the highest achievements
of education, and it is on this basis that we
must make our comparison between the work
^Collected Essays, Vol. IX, p. 51.
156 The Education of Our Girls
of the public school teachers and the work of
men and women who, leaving father and
mother, home and family, follow in the foot-
steps of the Master and spend their lives in
ministering to the needs of God's children."
CHAPTER VIII
The Social Claim Versus the Family Claim
'Trom Dr. Studevan's argument last Friday
evening," said Miss Geddes, "one would
Imagine that there Is such a conflict between
home duty and social service that the same
Individual cannot respond to both. I suppose
he would make our soldiers and statesmen,
our doctors and lawyers, celibates like him-
self."
"Why, no. Miss Geddes, I would not will-
ingly diminish the number of marriageable
men, of whom there seem to be too few as the
case stands. I was thinking only of woman
and of her difficulty in adjusting the social
claim to her home duties. Miss Addams of-
fers valuable testimony on this subject. Speak-
ing of the college graduate she says :
" 'The daughter finds a constant and totally
unnecessary conflict between the social and the
family claim. In most cases the former is
158 The Education of Our Girls
repressed and gives way to the family claim,
because the latter is concrete and definitely
asserted, while the social demand is vague and
unformulated. In such instances the girl qui-
etly submits, but she feels wronged whenever
she allows her mind to dwell upon the situa-
tion. She either hides her hurt and splendid
reserves of enthusiasm and capacity go to
waste or her zeal and emotions are turned
inward, and the result is an unhappy woman,
whose heart Is consumed by vain regrets and
desires.'
''We all recognize the fact that woman
fulfils certain social functions without neglect-
ing home duties, still, it is quite evident that
as society grows in complexity it demands
among women vocations to a social service
quite Incompatible with ordinary home duties.
Even our school boards seem to recognize this
fact by their refusal to employ married
women. Their experience does not warrant
them In Imposing these two burdens on the
same woman.
"There was a time, doubtless, when the
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 159
mother was quite able to take care of the edu-
cation of her children, but that was when so-
ciety was In its Infancy. No inconsiderable
share of the work of education still rests upon
the mother, but this Is quite apart from the
school. To-day the duties of either home or
school are quite sufficient to absorb the energy
of any one woman."
"Again I must protest," said the Professor,
"that you are hitting wide of the mark and
and that you have not cleared up the point
that you promised to make so plain. Public
school teachers are not married women, and,
from your own admission, they devote all
their time and energy to the work of teach-
ing; whereas, the Sisters, from your own ad-
mission also, are compelled to divert a large
share of their energy into other channels. The
advantage, therefore, is decidedly on the side
of the public school teachers."
"Ah, Professor, 'still harping on my
daughter!' There are many phases of the sub-
ject yet to be considered and one can not say
everything at once. But it Is, perhaps, as
i6o The Education of Our Girls
well to remind you right here that the disad-
vantages are not all on the side of the Sisters.
They act under the guidance of the Church,
who, in her divine wisdom, has always recog-
nized the differentiation of structure and the
specialization of function in all phases of so-
cial development.
''The Sisters may, therefore, consistently
develop to the fullest extent the tendency to
social service wherever they find it. Where
it becomes the dominant tone in character, the
young woman is not sent back to home life to
eat out her heart in vain regrets. A career is
open to her in any one of the innumerable
Sisterhoods, where she may respond to the so-
cial claim with the devotion of her life. And
where this vocation does not manifest itself,
the Sisters prepare the girl for the worthy dis-
charge of home duties. The failure to recog-
nize vocations to social service and the at-
tempt to coerce all women into the narrower
circle of home duties is responsible in no small
measure for that discontent which in too many
cases manifests itself in the divorce court.
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 1 6 1
*'We must not forget that religion Is the
great force that has lifted man out of his sel-
fishness and savagery. The voice of the Mas-
ter who bade His followers to return the
sword Into its scabbard and to love one
another Irrespective of tribe or tongue or
creed has been the most potent factor that has
ever entered Into the world for the develop-
ment of the ethical element In man.
"The public school teacher Is not permitted
to teach rehglon or to utilize the resources
which it offers for the development of the
characters of the children committed to her
care; whereas religion is the mainstay of the
Sister.
"Moreover, the selfish tendencies in man are
deeply ingrained qualities which he has inher-
ited through countless generations; whereas
the ethical element, the tendency to place the
public good above all private gain, is largely
the result of education. Now, if we remem-
ber what an all-Important role imitation plays
in the development of the mind and heart of
the child, it will be evident that the mere
1 62 The Education of Our Girls
presence in the schoolroom of a teacher whose
very dress is the outward symbol of a life
consecrated to the public service is of more
value for the development of the ethical na-
ture of the child than any effort along the line
of verbal instruction.
"Besides, it is quite evident that a woman
who thus consecrates herself to the public ser-
vice is better qualified to foster and develop
the vocation to social duty in the children
committed to her care than a woman who is
looking forward to home duties and family
ties."
"That is a rather startling view of educa-
tion," said Miss Geddes. "It is, however, a
test of efficiency in teaching that is not likely
to find acceptance in these practical days. Im-
agine measuring the relative standing of a
school by the number of girls which it sends
into the convent or by the number of boys
which it sends into the priesthood I"
"I am afraid. Miss Geddes, that you have
missed my thought. But, after all, would it
be such a poor test of the relative efficiency of
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 163
schools? 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'
The vocation to social service, however, which
I had in mind is not necessarily connected with
either sisterhood or priesthood. It is simply
the recognition of the social claim which
should be more or less articulate in the life of
every man and woman. It is this civic virtue,
this placing of the public good above all pri-
vate gain, this sense of human fellowship,
this readiness to respond to the cry of suffer-
ing, that I have been holding up as the su-
preme test of education. And the question
under immediate consideration is the relative
equipment of sisters and of public school
teachers for the development of this quality
in the characters of the children committed to
their care.
"You remember how Savonarola developed
this quality In Romola. I would like to read
for you the entire chapter on The Arresting
Voice, but instead let me read two brief pas-
sages which have a direct bearing on the sub-
ject in hand :
" 'She had started up with defiant words
164 The Education of Our Girls
ready to burst from her lips, but they fell back
again without utterance. She had met Fra
Girolamo's calm glance, and the impression
from it was so new to her that her anger sank
ashamed as something irrelevant. . . .
" 'She stood silent, looking at him. And
he spoke again.
" ' "You assert your freedom proudly, my
daughter. But who is so base as the debtor
that thinks himself free?"
" 'There was a sting in those words, and
Romola's countenance changed as if a subtle
pale flash had gone over it.
" ' "And you are flying from your debts:
The debt of a Florentine woman; the debt of
a wife. You are turning your back on the lot
that has been appointed for you — you are
going to choose another. But can man or
woman choose duties? No more than they
can choose their birthplace or their father and
mother. My daughter, you are fleeing from
the presence of God into the wilderness. . . ."
" 'The source of the impression his glance
produced on Romola was the sense it con-
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 165
veyed to her of interest In her and care for her
apart from any personal feeling. It was the
first time she had encountered a gaze In which
simple human fellowship expressed Itself as a
strongly felt bond. Such a glance Is half the
vocation of the priest or spiritual guide of
men, and Romola felt it impossible again to
question his authority to speak to her.'
''This Is the qualification of the teacher as
well as of the priest. The source of Savona-
rola's power over his followers Is to be found
in the consecration of his life to the public ser-
vice. Such lives always exert a powerful in-
fluence in lifting to a higher ethical plane those
with whom they come in contact. In this it is
plain that the religious teacher has a great
advantage over those who devote themselves
temporarily to the work of teaching. The
unconscious effect produced on the children by
the religious vocation of the teacher Is ren-
dered articulate on the lips of Savonarola In
this passage :
" ' ''And do you owe no tie but that of a
child to her father in the flesh ? Your life has
1 66 The Education of Our Girls
been spent in blindness, my daughter. You
have lived with those who sit on a hill aloof,
and look down on the life of their fellow-men.
I know their vain discourse. It is of what has
been in the times which they fill with their
own fancied wisdom, while they scorn God^s
work in the present. And doubtless you were
taught how there were pagan women who felt
what it was to live for the Republic ; and you
have never felt that you, a Florentine woman,
should live for Florence. If your own people
are wearing a yoke, will you slip from under
it, instead of struggling with them to lighten
it? There is hunger and misery in our streets,
and you say, 'I care not; I have my own sor-
rows; I will go away, if peradventure I can
ease them.' The servants of God are strug-
gling after a law of justice, peace, and charity,
that the hundred thousand citizens among
whom you were born may be governed right-
eously; but you think no more of this than if
you were a bird that might spread its wings
and fly whither it will in search of food to its
liking. And yet you have scorned the teach-
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 167
Ings of the Church, my daughter. As if you,
a wilful wanderer, following your own blind
choice, were not below the humblest Floren-
tine woman who stretches forth her hands
with her own people, and craves a blessing for
them, and feels a close sisterhood with the
neighbor who lives beside her and is not of her
own blood." ' "
''Granted," said Professor Shannon, "that
what Savonarola is here pleading for is the
quality that should be developed in all our
children; but is it not coeducational institu-
tions that are awakening in our young women
the consciousness of this social claim? Miss
Addams brought this out very clearly when
she said: 'The modern woman finds herself
educated to recognize a stress of social obliga-
tions which her family did not in the least an-
ticipate when they sent her to college. She
finds herself, in addition, under the impulse to
act her part as a citizen of the world.* "
"Coeducational institutions haven't a mo-
nopoly of the development in the minds of
women of this impulse to a larger life," said
1 68 The Education of Our Girls
Mr. O'Brien. ^'Women's colleges and the
academies and colleges conducted by our sis-
terhoods in all parts of the country have had
their full share in this awakening. This theme
was beautifully developed by Dr. Shahan in
an address delivered in Trinity College a few
years ago at the dedication of the O'Connor
art gallery. I found the address the other
day, among other essays, in The House of
God'; let me read you this passage from it
(page 47):
*' The demand for women of solid Chris-
tian virtue and well-cultivated minds is increas-
ing. There is no city in the land where they
are not prized and where a dozen tasks do not
await each one. The immense democracy of
opportunity solicits our American women on
all sides, and her naturally independent spirit
urges her to profit to the utmost by every open-
ing that is made for her. It is in the United
States that genuine superior schools for
women first arose; they are still growing all
over this land, often richly endowed by other
women, and all of them helping to uplift and
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 169
Illustrate their sex. Immemorial prejudice
against the intellectual Improvement of
woman Is disappearing, and barriers are fall-
ing that seemed as Inviolable as the laws of
the Medes and the Persians. Errors and fail-
ures there have been, but the whole movement
is sane, admirable, eminently Christian, and
rich with future promise. Anyhow, the lords
of creation have not always managed their
own higher education so blamelessly that they
can reproach their sisters with their Initial
stumblings and wanderings. Their cause is
just, and no society In the world has so large
an Interest in Its success, in the growth of a
great multitude of superior women, as our
American society. Virtue and Intelligence are
Indispensable props of every democracy, and
they are never imported. They grow In the
family, or they grow not at all. It is the
women of the family, the wife, the mother, the
sister, who educate the average American citi-
zen. He is what they make him or fail to
make him. Hence, the most Imperative need of
our society is a womankind that shall not only
170 The Education of Our Girls
feel its responsibility, but shall also dispose
of sufficient knowledge to handle well its op-
portunities of every day and every hour; that
shall be the equal of the husband and brother,
the superior guide of growing youth, an ele-
ment of good counsel, civic wisdom, and moral
strength in the community. One weakness of
modern society is not the learning, but the Ig-
norance of woman, that condemns her too
often to look on helplessly at a frittering and
degradation of life, of which she is again the
first victim. Hence, if Catholicism is to be
a social force in the future of our American
humanity, It must look to the education of its
women with all the practical earnestness and
enlightened zeal that it manifests for the edu-
cation of its men; nay, with more, for man be-
comes an educator only occasionally, while
education is the habitual calling of all women;
they are its prophetesses and Its priestesses,
conversant with all Its mysteries, and endowed
by God with a hundred secret affections, in-
clinations and tastes In this sense that render
the work easy and successful.'
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 171
"Our colleges and universities have not
confined their efforts in the past, and are not
confining them in the present, to the mere
teaching of the classics and the sciences; their
highest function has always been the develop-
ment of the social element in their pupils.
They send forth from their doors soldiers to
defend the country in time of danger and
statesmen to guide the nation in the pursuit of
peace and public-spirited men everywhere who
interest themselves in the welfare of their fel-
low-citizens.
"It is quite natural, therefore, that our
young women, on entering these institutions
of learning, should feel the pulse of this larger
life and find the call to social service impera-
tive; but the point to be considered is this:
are the colleges which were developed to
minister to man's needs equipped to guide the
awakening social impulses of our young
women into the proper channels?
"Many thoughtful men think that women's
colleges must solve this problem. There
seems to be no good reason why they should
172 The Education of Our Girls
not give the young women the practical and
cultural elements of a collegiate education and
the impulse to a larger life which have here-
tofore been characteristic of men*s colleges
and coeducational institutions. Moreover,
there is every reason to hope that these de-
sirable features of our existing universities
and men's colleges will be Incorporated In
women's colleges with other elements that are
essential to the peculiar needs of woman and
that will fit her more effectively for the large
work in the social world which she Is now
called upon to perform.
'*It Is doubtful whether the universities and
coeducational institutions can deal safely or
effectively with the development of woman's
mind and heart. As Dr. Shahan has so clearly
shown, woman reached her present elevation
through the uplifting power of Christian
teaching and Christian ideals, and she cannot
now eliminate from her development this
phase, even if we could Imagine her dwelling
on some higher plane of intellectual and moral
life than that to which Christianity has lifted
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 173
her. The law so often invoked by embryolo-
glsts here holds as rigidly as it does in all other
fields of organic and mental development:
ontogeny is a recapitulation of phylogeny. It
is, therefore, doubtful whether any institution
that ignores religion and dispenses with its up-
lifting influences can ever solve woman's
problems or guide her development success-
fully.''
"Miss Addams' description of the young
college woman in the role of a charity visitor
emphasizes this doubt," said Miss Ruth.
"The college seems to have awakened in her
a keen consciousness of the social claim, but
it has failed to direct this awakened energy
into effective channels of social service. The
chapter on Charitable Effort, which to me is
the most interesting one in the book, is a vivid
picture of the utter failure of the charity vis-
itor to understand the people whom she would
serve, and the endless misunderstanding of her
motives by these people which lead to conse-
quences that are neither foreseen nor desirable.
"Her failure to elevate their ethical stan-
174 The Education of Our Girls
dard Is due to her Inability to comprehend It,
and when she undertakes to substitute her own
standard for theirs, 'the perplexity and clash-
ing of different standards, with the consequent
misunderstandings, are not so bad as the moral
deterioration which Is almost sure to follow.'
It usually takes the charity visitor some time
to discover the impossibility of substituting a
higher ethical standard for a lower one with-
out similarity of experience."
"She would not be thus perplexed," said
Dr. Studevan, ''had the school in which she
was trained been animated by the wisdom of
the Church. The daintily clad charitable
visitor, before she sprouted her wings, would
have learned that Christ did not send angels
to convert the world. 'Every high priest,
taken from among men. Is ordained for men
In the things that appertain to God.' The
Church has always adjusted herself to the
people whom she would lift up and save. She
recruits her priesthood and her sisterhoods
from all walks of life and thus becomes all
things to all men In order to save all."
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 175
"Although the young visitor may fall at
times to accomplish the good that she desires,"
said Professor Shannon, "we must not on that
account overlook the good work that Is being
done by the Associated Charities and the St.
Vincent de Paul societies.'*
"Miss Addams Is evidently not much better
satisfied with the organized efforts of these
people than she Is with Individual strivings,"
said Miss Ruth. "I find this passage on page
25:
" 'Even those of us who feel most sorely the
need of more order In altruistic effort and see
the end to be desired find something distaste-
ful in the juxtaposition of the words "organ-
ized" and "charity." We say in defense that
we are striving to turn this emotion into a
motive, that pity is capricious, and not to be
depended upon; that we mean to give it the
dignity of conscious duty. But at bottom we
distrust a little a scheme which substitutes a
theory of social conduct for the natural
promptings of the heart, even although we
appreciate the complexity of the situation.' "
176 The Education of Our Girls
*'That Is a statement of the problem," said
Dr. Studevan, "which the Church has solved
in the organization of her clergy and in the
formation of her religious orders. Has she
not here again and again lifted up capricious
pity into permanent charity and transfigured
the emotion of love into the conscious duty of
a lifetime?
"Miss Addams seems at times to be on the
point of recognizing this fact as when she says,
in speaking of the experience of the charity
visitors :
" 'It Induces an occasional charity visitor to
live in a tenement house as simply as the other
tenants do. It drives others to give up visit-
ing the poor altogether, because, they claim,
it is quite impossible unless the individual be-
comes a member of a sisterhood, which re-
quires, as some of the Roman Catholic sister-
hoods do, that the member first take the vows
of obedience and poverty, so that she can have
nothing to give save as it is first given to her,
and thus she Is not harassed by a constant at-
tempt at adjustment.'
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 177
"It is somewhat surprising that a woman of
Miss Addams' penetration should have failed
to see that the sisterhoods of the Catholic
Church contain the solution of her problem."
"Why did you stop reading there?" asked
Miss Geddes; "the really significant part of
the chapter is that which follows."
"I was animated by no more deeply laid
scheme, Miss Geddes, than the fear of trying
your patience too severely. But here is the
rest of the passage :
" 'Both the tenement-house resident and the
Sister assume to have put themselves upon the
industrial level of their neighbors, although
they have left out the most awful element of
poverty, that of imminent fear of starvation
and a neglected old age.' "
"So that the adjustment which is secured by
the convent," said Miss Geddes, "is, after all,
a mere sham! It's another case of 'Hamlet'
without the Prince of Denmark. They wear
the outward semblance of poverty without be-
ing poor in reality."
"Your catalog of shams would prove an
178 The Education of Our Girls
interesting one," replied Dr. Studevan. "I no-
tice that in spite of the danger of being called
hard names by over-zealous philanthropists
the life-saving crew seldom feel it necessary to
put themselves in all respects in the condition
of the shipwrecked in order to be of service
to them. The saint in his lowliness mingles
with sinners and outcasts without leaving his
sanctity behind him. When God became man
to lift up fallen human nature He brought His
divinity with Him; and the Sisters, following
in His footsteps, labor Incessantly to save and
uplift the wreckage of human society without
making themselves as one of the victims of
human vice and cruelty."
"Charities and corrections furnish a very
interesting theme for discussion," said the Pro-
fessor, "and I hope we shall find time for it
on some other evening, but I don't want to let
Studevan escape from the tight corner in
which we have him until he acknowledges like
a man that he has been In the wrong. We
have all been interested In the work of Miss
Addams, Miss Scudder, Miss Haley and
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 179
other women of their kind who are not Sisters.
The awakening and developing of the social
Impulses In these women have been the work
of coeducational Institutions, and It Is evident,
therefore, that It Is to these Institutions we
should look for aid in adjusting woman to her
new social and economic environments."
^Whether or not It be due to the lateness
of the hour," said Dr. Studevan, *'I find it
rather hard to follow the logic of the Profes-
sor's argument. Personally, I have always
considered it time to drop a discussion when
the participants became more interested in
personal triumphs than In the cause of truth.
I wonder if this haste on the part of the Pro-
fessor to put me In a corner is In any way re-
sponsible for his failure to remember that
Miss Addams received her education In a
woman's college in Rockford, 111., that Miss
Scudder is a product of Smith, and that Miss
Haley was educated by the Sisters of the Holy
Cross? Or is it possible that he Is not aware
that much of the best work along these lines
outside the convent as well as within its walls
i8o The Education of Our Girls
Is done by women who were trained by the
Sisters or In women's schools and colleges con-
ducted by women of the world?"
^'Coeducational Institutions have not had
time to have a large representation In work of
this kind," said MissGeddes, "but wait for the
future and you shall see what they will accom-
plish I Anyhow, neither Miss Addams nor
Miss Scudder Is the product of a convent
school nor did It take a religious vocation to
develop In them a response to the social
claim."
"All of which I most willingly grant," said
Dr. Studevan. "I yield to none In my admi-
ration for the work of such women as Miss
Addams and Miss Scudder. Nevertheless, I
cannot help believing that if Miss Addams
were a Catholic and that if she had received
her training in a convent school she would
now be at the head of some great sisterhood
with a thousand Sisters sharing her enthusi-
asm and working under her direction.
"Nor would I have any one think me unap-
preclative of the splendid work for the higher
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 181
education of women which is being done by
many of the existing women^s colleges outside
the Church. Still I can not help comparing
results. I can not escape the conviction that
all the enduring work of society must flow in
the channels of regular organization. Indi-
vidual effort however brilliant is likely to be
local and short-lived. If it spreads over a
large area, unless it is organized, it soon disin-
tegrates into a thousand conflicting attempts
which often retard progress.
"Nowhere does the Church's genius for or-
ganization show to better advantage than in
her dealings with women. She first separates
those who by nature and inclination are pe-
culiarly adapted to social service from those
who are constitutionally and temperamentally
fitted to become wives and mothers ; and then
from among those who are eager to devote
themselves to the public service, she selects
one band who devote themselves exclusively
to the care of neglected old age, and another
to the care of helpless Infancy; one band to the
* care of the sick and the wounded in body, and
1 82 The Education of Our Girls
another to the rescue and preservation of those
who are weak morally. Some sisterhoods de-
vote themselves chiefly to the formation of
ideal wives and mothers among the children
of the wealthy, while others undertake to care
for the orphan and to educate the children of
the poor.
"All this work goes on quietly, without
noise or bustle, but there Is a consciousness of
permanency in it all. The members of this
vast army labor In the consciousness of the
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of
Man. Individuals come and go, but the or-
ganization lives and continues through the
centuries to produce for society its saving
fruit. In the hfe and organization of the
Church the principle of selection, call it
divine selection or vocation, If you will, finds
fullest and freest play."
"Is not that a new meaning that you are
giving to religious vocation, just to suit your
present purpose?" asked Miss Geddes. "Do
you mean to tell us that the young man who
believes himself called to the priesthood or
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 183
the young woman who talks about her voca-
tion to the sisterhood Is merely responding to
the social claim?'*
*'Why, yes; that Is precisely what I mean,
and If you will take the trouble to consult the
literature on the subject written by the great
masters of the spiritual life, you will find that
their concept of the religious vocation Is not
really different from that which I am here try-
ing to explain. No Catholic youth or maiden
expects God to come down In person and call
him or her by name and Indicate the religious
order that he or she Is to enter. These young
people are filled with the consciousness of the
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of
Man, and In the generosity of their young
hearts they consecrate themselves wholly to
their Father's service and expect to discover
their Father's wish chiefly In the need of their
brother and In their own capacity and Inclina-
tion. To secure them against error In this
direction the Church requires them to consult
the spiritual guides whom she appoints to di-
rect her children In the waysof peace and life."
184 The Education of Our Girls
"Studevan has a way of talking all around
a subject," said Professor Shannon, "and he
never will stop if he Is allowed to ride his
hobby 'the glory of the vocation to the re-
ligious life.' What would become of the
world If we all became priests and nuns? He
seems to have adopted as his philosophy of
life Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: *I say we
will have no more marriages. Those that are
married already, all but one, shall live; the
rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.'
"He seems to forget that even under ideal
conditions the schools have to train fifty girls
who are to marry and remain In the world for
every one that is destined for the religious
life, and It Is with the education of the fifty
and not with that of the one that we are con-
cerned in the question of coeducation. Of
course no one expects the candidates for the
priesthood and the sisterhoods to be trained in
coeducational Institutions. Keeping these re-
ligious vocations in the foreground Is one of
Studevan's devices for evading the real point
under discussion. Please stick to the point,
Social Claim vs. Family Claim 185
Doctor, and tell us whether a convent school is
better able to train a young woman for the
world, whether it is more competent to give
her the kind of training that she needs to be-
come a wife and mother, than are coeduca-
tional institutions."
''Don't be so grouchy. Shannon; I really
have no desire to evade the question as you
state it, but we shall have to postpone discus-
sion until next Friday evening and then we
shall have to appeal to Mrs. O'Brien for illu-
mination on this phase of the subject. Her
experience will help us to reach a decision
concerning the kind of education that is best
suited for the wives and mothers of our day.'*
CHAPTER IX
The Vocations of Woman
''Isn't Mrs. O'Brien going to give us the
pleasure of her company this evening?" asked
Professor Shannon. "You know we want
her to Instruct Dr. Studevan on the kind of
education that Is needed to fit our girls to be-
come Ideal wives and mothers."
"Kate will join us later. Mary is a bit
under the weather this evening, and until she
Is safely in dreamland claims her mother's
undivided attention.'*
"At our last meeting the Doctors seemed to
make a very strange division of womankind,"
said Miss Ruth. "They have apparently for-
gotten the existence of the bachelor girl, but
I am afraid she will refuse to be Ignored."
"If Dr. Studevan had his way," said Miss
Geddes, "he would send every unmarried girl
over twenty years of age into the convent."
"Oh, it's hardly as bad as that. Miss
The Vocations of Woman 187
Geddes. But, really, I do question whether
there is a third vocation for woman. If she
is to become an integral part of the social sys-
tem, she must find her orbit either in the home
or in some organization for social service —
call the organization a sisterhood or what you
will. These lone women wandering through
life without attachments are, like comets or
meteors, strange beings sadly out of place in
the social world.'*
'That is hardly a fair way to look at the
question, Doctor," said Miss Ruth. *'The so-
cial and economic conditions of our times
have advanced the marrying age of both
sexes. Multitudes of our young women must
labor to support themselves for some years,
even though they contemplate marrying later
on. A great many of them, in addition to
supporting themselves, must care for aged
parents and not infrequently for the younger
members of the family as well. Many of
these women do not feel themselves called to
the religious life and they still remain single
all their lives. There can be no question of
1 88 The Education of Our Girls
the duty of educational institutions to minis-
ter to the needs of these people. It looks as
though we must reckon with at least three vo-
cations for women.'*
*'Studevan's objection to the third vocation
applies to bachelors with even greater force
than it does to bachelor girls," said Mr.
O'Brien. "If unmarried women over twenty
years of age should enter the convent, what
about unmarried men of over thirty?"
"Why, they are not only out of place," said
Dr. Studevan, "but they are more culpably
so than women. Every individual owes a
duty to the race which he should not be al-
lowed to shirk. He should either found a
home and strengthen his people numerically,
or he should become a member of some regu-
lar organization for social service, and in this
way discharge his duty to society. The
bachelor girl may not be altogether respon-
sible for her detached condition, since it is
quite possible that she would change it if the
right man appeared on the scene, but society
does not allow her freedom in seeking for a
The Vocations of Woman 189
suitable companion, while it leaves man ab-
solutely free in this respect."
"Would you advocate the passage of a
law, Doctor," said Mr. O'Brien, "compelling
all bachelors to marry? If it is their selfish-
ness that keeps them single, would it not be
wise for the state to tax them so heavily that
they would find it to their advantage to marry
and thus discharge their duty to society?"
"On general principles I am inclined to
agree with you," replied Dr. Studevan, "but,
after all, our evenings would be rather dull
without Shannon, and if he had a young wife
and children to take care of, I am afraid he
would find It rather difficult to grace our
meetings with his presence. Society would
sadly miss the mellow old bachelor."
"And what would my wife do without
Aunt Mary, who is always on hand in time
of family need?" asked Mr. Eaton. "She
makes the clothes for the little ones and Is
chief nurse In time of sickness."
"That Is all true, Mr. Eaton," said Mr.
O'Brien, "but you are thinking of the old
190 The Education of Our Girls
maid and we were speaking of the bachelor
girl; these are quite distinct species, you know.
The sudden increase in the number of bache-
lor girls is one of the alarming symptoms of
the present situation. From Miss Ruth's
statement of the case, this sudden increase is
due to the social and economic conditions of
the time, but would not the converse of this
be much nearer to the truth? Are not the
social and economic conditions here referred
to traceable to the bachelor girls? W. A.
Curtis in the Outlook for December 13, 1902,
says :
" 'Man is face to face with the fact that
woman in the twentieth century is not his ally,
his helpmate, his wife, but his competitor, his
rival. . . . Once woman doubled our joys
and halved our sorrows. She now halves our
incomes and doubles those seeking employ-
ment. Declaiming against the injustice of
paying her half what a man got, in her blind-
ness to the fact that man got twice as much
in order that he might give her half, she has
succeeded in getting her rate of compensation
The Vocations of Woman 191
raised somewhat, but his has descended to
meet it. And so, some assert, result the un-
married and unhappy thousands of women
and men, so the increase of the social evil, so
the weakening of the national stamina that
assails a nation where family life is pass-
ing. . . . Blindly, unconsciously, rudely,
unchivalrously, yet with a righteous purpose
at bottom, though he know it not, the col-
lege man strikes at coeducation.' "
*'That sounds like a voice from the last
century," said Miss Ruth, "but it suggests
many themes which would probably furnish
profitable discussion for our evenings. Have
man's wages descended? If there are too
many seeking employment, why admit a
million laborers a year to glut the market?
Besides, woman has never been an Idler and
it is hardly fair to blame her for following
her employment when it left the home.
"There are many families in our cities that
consist of several grown girls and whose only
male bread winner is the father, whose earning
capacity is constantly diminishing as the needs
192 The Education of Our Girls
of the family Increase. Who are going to
share their wages with these girls? They
are not averse to marrying if decent men who
are able to support them and who are worthy
of their affection appear on the scene to claim
their love and devotion ; meanwhile they must
work for a living, and that away from home.
The only question Is whether they shall enter
the labor market uneducated and try to earn
their living by the use of their muscle, of
which they seem to have too scanty a supply,
or whether they shall first receive an educa-
tion that will enable them to live by their
talents. Woman has chosen the latter of these
alternatives and she feels herself entirely
within her rights when she demands a share
in the best education that society affords.
"Dr. Shahan emphasizes this thought in
*The House of God' (page 337). Let me
read the passage for you :
" 'And the world of woman? The insti-
tutions of a given society are always affected
by the prevailing forms of government. And
§0 the logic of Democracy has already com-
The Vocations of Woman 193
pelled our modern society to open its schools
to woman and grant her that equality of aca-
demic privileges that she once sighed for in
vain. It is because a good education for
woman is no longer an ornament, but a neces-
sity. And it is such because education is rap-
idly becoming the indispensable need of every
member of society who would cultivate God-
given gifts and opportunities. From all sides
comes a recognition of the new and unique
position among states of our own beloved
land. This United States is no longer the
land of buccaneers or knights-errant of the
world, but a magnificent, closely knit, self-
conscious organism, filled with youth and
strength, dragging along no ancient impedi-
ments of hatred and wrong, that proposes in-
deed an incredible advance, but proposes also
to begin v/here other societies have stopped.
It is in such a world that economic and social
changes of the widest import are placing
woman everywhere upon the intellectual level
of man — frequently enough, indeed, much
higher. She is beginning, in the most honor-
194 The Education of Our Girls
able way, to shine In sciences that seemed
once closed to her almost by a law of nature.
Here, too, are we to take no account of the
flood that Is rising on all sides, but fold our
arms and placidly wait for the extinction
among us of all the glorious prestige and
moral power that will attach to learning so
long as society exists?' "
"I am glad to welcome you to our side of
this controversy, Miss Ruth," said Professor
Shannon; "I always felt that your good judg-
ment would assert Itself In the end and that
you would abandon Studevan and his vaga-
ries. Woman has been compelled to enter
into competition with man, and in seeking an
education In the institutions which have
equipped her competitors she is using her
common sense and following her Instincts,
which are always true."
*'Are not your conclusions just a bit hasty.
Professor?" asked Dr. Studevan. "I find my-
self agreeing with everything that Miss Ruth
has said and in entire accord with every line of
Dr. Shahan's magnificent essay on the Need
The Vocations of Woman 195
of a Catholic University, from which she has
just read.
"The time has come for the higher educa-
tion of our sons and daughters, and in this
work Catholics can not afford to lag behind
the movement ; they must be its leaders and its
guides. With the flower of Catholic man-
hood and womanhood devoting themselves
with zeal and enthusiasm to the cause of edu-
cation, there Is only needed a helping hand
from those amongst us whom God has blessed
with wealth to put Catholic educational Insti-
tutions in the forefront of the movement.
The Catholic heart that built the cathedrals
of Europe and laid the foundations of its
great universities will not permit our religious
teachers to go forth to their life work with-
out the best intellectual equipment that the
age affords.
"However, your statement that * woman
has been compelled to enter Into competition
with man* seems strangely out of place on the
lips of a modern sociologist. Any close ob-
server of present social and economic condi-
196 The Education of Our Girls
tions must see that the age of competition is
passing; the future belongs to cooperation.
"But to return to Miss Ruth's statement,
I quite agree with her that woman is not re-
sponsible for the present conditions, as Mr.
Curtis would seem to imply. Labor-saving
machinery, by sweeping industry from the
home, has compelled woman to seek employ-
ment in new fields. In doing this she is not
invading man's province. Employment for
both men and women has completely changed
and both have to adjust themselves to these
changed conditions. The man who inveighs
against woman labor bases his judgment on
superficial aspects. Whether woman works in
the home, in the office, or in the factory, is a
mere accident; the important thing has re-
mained unchanged — that is, that she works.
"A close survey of the field reveals the fact
that woman is claiming for herself certain in-
dustrial provinces which she will make her
own and from which she will eliminate man
quite as effectively as she formerly eliminated
him from spinning and weaving. There is a
The Vocations of Woman 197
strange mixture of truth and error In that arti-
cle of Mr. Curtis. Will you let me have the
magazine for a moment, Mr. O'Brien? Just
listen to this :
" 'Numerically the college woman is not a
large factor, but she is a sure factor, and the
college man, obeying one of those strange
psychological waves that sweep over a nation
and make all blind, unconscious agents in a
great change, a great reform, is trying to save
her from herself for himself. Coeducation
will not pass. . . . But the competition of
woman with man will pass.'
"In the years which have elapsed since Cur-
tis wrote this, the number of co-eds has in-
creased with great rapidity, nevertheless I
believe he was mistaken when he said 'coedu-
cation will not pass.* The truth of his other
statement, that competition will pass, must be
evident to every student of sociology. Woman
never has been In any serious competition with
man in the labor market. When the new
province of woman In the industrial world be-
comes clearly defined, woman will find it to
198 The Education of Our Girls
her interest to seek her education in those
schools which in scope and method are being
developed to meet her peculiar needs.''
"Are we to understand, Doctor," said Pro-
fessor Shannon, *'that man is about to abdicate
the learned professions because woman has put
in an appearance ? and that woman is to do all
the teaching and to fill all the clerical positions
and to do all the journalistic work and to write
our magazine articles and our books? If these
positions are not to be relinquished to women,
how is competition to cease between man
and woman? And if woman is going to
claim all this as her province, the next genera-
tion of men will have to take to the tall
timbers."
''It's coming to that very rapidly," said Mr.
Eaton. "It is already becoming very difficult
to secure domestic servants. The other day a
friend sent a colored girl to us, and when my
wife took her into the kitchen and began to
instruct her concerning her duties, the girl
grew quite indignant and asked my wife if she
really expected her to stand over a hot stove
The Vocations of Woman 199
cooking and gave her to understand that she
was a high school graduate."
"Your alarm, gentlemen," said Dr. Stude-
van, "reminds me of an old friend, who, after
quoting a splendid passage descriptive of the
solar system, proceeded to exhibit his utter
failure to comprehend the fundamental laws
of the system. He reasoned that if from any
cause the weight of the earth were Increased
it would drop Into the sun, and that if Its mo-
tion were retarded ever so little the same dire
fate would befall It; while If Its weight were
diminished or Its motion increased It would
wander off In ever widening circles Into Inter-
stellar space. He had evidently failed to
realize the power of adjustment possessed by
the solar system. And so I sometimes think
that our alarmists fail to realize society's
power of self-adjustment.
"Woman has entered the Industrial arena,
where she must find her employment in the
future; she is crowding the academic depart-
ments of our universities and colleges, from
which the young men have departed to pre-
200 The Education of Our Girls
pare for their future In technical and profes-
sional schools. But even If woman's orbit Is
being changed under the stress of present con-
ditions, we need feel no alarm. Woman will
find her new orbit and be as true to it as she
has been to the old."
" 'Frailty, thy name is woman,' was prob-
ably due to Hamlet's liver," said the Profes-
sor, "but to what shall we attribute Dr. Stude-
van's Inconsistency? A little while ago he
denied to the bachelor girl a vocation and set
up the old cry that every woman should marry
or betake herself to a convent, and now he
calmly assures us that woman In this *ThIrd
Estate' has conquered for herself whole prov-
inces of the Industrial world and in fact that
she Is moving In a new orbit."
" 'Aye, Nello, and If they tongue can
leave off Its everlasting chirping long enough
for thy understanding to consider the matter,
thou mayst see' that there Is In this seeming
Inconsistency no sterner stuff than dreams are
made of. If you were consistent, you would
accuse all Catholics of Inconsistency, since they
The Vocations of Woman 201
accept purgatory and still subscribe to the be-
lief that there are only two eternal states. If
you had been attending to the discussion in-
stead of allowing your fancy to wander in
more pleasant places, you would have learned
ere this that multitudes of women who occupy
these newly conquered industrial provinces
have not relinquished the hope of reigning
over homes of their own. You would have
learned also that this lady-bachelordom, which
seems to have obsessed you, is a sort of tad-
pole state of existence in which certain women
dwell for a time before passing into the realms
of bliss."
''Lady-bachelordom," said Mr. O'Brien,
'Vould seem to be a state which it is highly
desirable that young women should avoid, and
if the uncontrollable current of events should
leave any fair maiden's bark stranded on these
desolate shores, it is the duty of friends and
neighbors to hasten to the rescue. Have I
caught your meaning. Doctor?"
"The gentlemen are frivolous to-night,"
said Miss Ruth, "which is hardly worthy of
202 The Education of Our Girls
them or of the subject under discussion. We
are confronted by conditions, not theories.
While the fact remains that multitudes of
young women must labor to support them-
selves and those dependent upon them, educa-
tional institutions cannot afford to neglect
their intellectual needs. And, as I have said
before, there are a great many women who
never marry and who, nevertheless, feel no
call to the religious life. Have these women
no rights that educational institutions should
respect?"
"My dear madam, if I have given offense
by my seeming levity, let me hasten to apolo-
gize. You know it is hard to be serious when
Professor Shannon espouses the cause of the
bachelor-girl. But I was really in earnest in
maintaining that there are only two vocations
for women. Each one of us owes to society
a duty that is above all selfish or Individual
interests, and this duty we can fully discharge
only by becoming organic parts of society,
either as a member of a home group or of
some larger group whose explicit aim is social
The Vocations of Woman 203
service. A woman who does not marry and
who feels no call to the religious life may still
take part in uplifting her race by cooperating
with some permanent organization by the
work of her hands or of her brain or by con-
tributing of her worldly possessions.
"As to those women who labor for a time
to support themselves and those dependent
upon them before they assume the duties of
married life, it is quite evident that their needs
in this temporary state of existence should
be taken into account, but their education
should be so conducted that this passing phase
of their existence and its needs would remain
subordinate. The chief purpose of their
training should be to fit them for the worthy
discharge of their duties when they take up
their real life work.
"I am not forgetting that many women
who have no call to the religious life remain
in the world unmarried. There is no class of
women in the community more conspicuous
for social service. How many a home is pre-
served by the heroic self-sacrifice of these
204 The Education of Our Girls
women? How many an aged father and
mother are kept from the poorhouse and al-
lowed to spend lifers evening in the peace and
comfort of their own home through the devo-
tion of their daughters, when, as too often
happens, their sons have failed to realize the
hopes and expectations of their boyhood!
"It is surely as worthy a social service to
labor in this way to prevent the helpless from
becoming a public burden as it is to minister
to those who have become demoralized
through poverty and hardship. It not infre-
quently happens that a member of a religious
community is sent back into the world to care
for an aged parent whom the waves of adver-
sity have left stranded on a desolate shoal.
But while I recognize all this, I believe,
nevertheless, that a life of this kind is not and
should not be chosen as a lifers vocation, and
hence the school cannot take it into account as
such.
*'The young woman in her generosity as-
sumes these burdens intending to carry them
for a time only. She usually hopes later on
The Vocations of Woiijan 205
either to marry or to enter a convent, but it
too often happens that in the faithful dis-
charge of these duties her youth slips from
her, and when freedom comes it is too late
to do either.
"My contention, consequently, amounts to
this: every girl who does not intend to join a
sisterhood should be so educated that she will
be able to discharge efficiently the duties of a
wife and mother should Divine Providence
call her to that position. I hold, this conten-
tion being granted, that an education which
is shaped exclusively to meet man's needs
will prove inadequate to the needs of our
young women."
*Tou are just in time, Mrs. O'Brien," said
Professor Shannon; "Dr. Studevan has been
floundering hopelessly in his endeavor to en-
lighten us concerning the kind of education
that is suitable for the wife and mother of
to-day."
"How is Mary?" asked Miss Ruth.
"She caught a severe cold and is a bit fever-
ish, but is sleeping nicely now, thank you. I
2o6 The Education of Our Girls
am very sorry to have missed the discussion
this evening. Please tell me what it was
about."
"There wasn't much new in it," said Miss
Geddes. "Dr. Studevan was trying to prove
that our educational institutions should take
account of only two vocations for women;
their treasures are for those who marry or for
those who enter the convent; the rest of us are
to be entirely ignored."
"Now, that is hardly fair, Mrs. O'Brien;
all I have said is this : all women who do not
intend to become Sisters should fit themselves
during their school-days to discharge the du-
ties of wives and mothers, because there is
really no telling where the lightning will
strike, you know."
"I am afraid I shall have to agree with you,
Doctor. I have grown very distrustful of the
higher education of woman as it is too fre-
quently understood at present. Of course I
do not believe that anybody, man or woman,
can be too highly educated, but a great many
people in these days seem to get the wrong
The Vocations of Woman 207
kind of education. It seems to me that when-
ever an education renders people unhappy and
discontented with their state In hfe It Is the
wrong kind of education."
*'That Is the sanest view of the subject that
has been expressed," said Dr. Studevan.
"Education should be a developmental proc-
ess; it should lift up and ennoble the ordinary
things of life; It should glorify duty and trans-
figure labor; It should perfect the adjustments
of Individual life and promote the happiness
and well-being of society. 'By their fruits ye
shall know them.' And the higher education
of women that falls to bring forth these fruits
stands condemned, like the barren fig tree of
the Gospel."
"There, Studevan Is at It again," said the
Professor. "We have been waiting all even-
ing for Mrs. O'Brien to tell us the kind of
education that Is most helpful to wives and
mothers, but of course Studevan must crowd
her off the platform and preach to us again."
"Don't mind him. Doctor; I would much
rather listen to you talk. You say the things
2o8 The Education of Our Girls
that I have been thinking and you say them
much better than I could."
''That's very kind of you, Mrs. O'Brien,
but really, I have told them all I know about
the subject, and Shannon is right; you have
been patiently listening to us for several even-
ings and we have all grown hungry for your
views."
"It didn't take any patience on my part, I
assure you ; on the contrary, I have been very
much interested in what you were all saying
and did not think of anything to say myself.
"I wonder if psychologists do understand
women, after all. No, I didn't mean the
Doctor; I was thinking about what Professor
Miinsterberg said. He could not have under-
stood women when he wrote that higher edu-
cation removed from them the desire to marry.
It is not easy for any woman to part with these
deep instincts of her nature. Even when a
woman goes into the convent it is not because
she finds in her heart no promptings to love
and marriage. In the generosity of her soul
she offers these things up to God in remem-
The Vocations of Woman 209
brance of what He suffered for us and she de-
votes her life to the service of others that she
may grow daily more like her divine Master.
"I don't agree with the Professor at all
when he blames the cultural development of
women for preventing marriage and for ren-
dering married people unhappy. Even
though a wife's cultural development be supe-
rior to that of her husband, it will not render
her unhappy, that is, if she has good common
sense. Women are able to appreciate a dia-
mond in the rough. And a sensible woman
doesn't love a man the less because he is una-
ble to talk about literature and art. And, be-
sides, if a woman has the right kind of culture
herself, she will impart a great deal of it to
her husband. I sometimes think that real cul-
ture must be a matter of inheritance; it is the
fine feeling and the quick sympathy rather
than the external polish.
"Higher education may be responsible for
keeping many women from getting married;
and it may also be responsible for a great deal
of the wretchedness and unhappiness of mar-
2IO The Education of Our Girls
ried life; but, If so, the blame should be laid
on the things that have not been taught rather
than on the things that our girls actually
learned at college.
"For instance, there is Mrs. Hamlyn, as
charming a little woman in many ways as you
could find in the city. She has an M. A.
degree from the State University. Some of
her verses are really exquisite and her pictures
are not bad. But all this has not contributed
much to the happiness of her home. Mr.
Hamlyn has a fair income, they entertain very
little, and yet they are always in debt. They
are both excellent people and might be ex-
pected to make each other very happy, but I
believe if they could untie the knot to-morrow
without giving scandal, they would gladly
do so.
"Now, what is the trouble? I don't mean
that all the blame rests on Mrs. Hamlyn; but
there is more food wasted in her kitchen than
would support two families; she is always in
trouble with her servants and she lives in ab-
ject terror of them; the meals are irregular.
The Vocations of Woman 2 1 1
the table Is seldom appetizing, and Mr. Ham-
lyn^s tastes are never considered ; her house Is
usually In disorder and her children are abso-
lutely undisciplined.
"I cannot help thinking what a happy little
home she would have If she had received the
right kind of training when she was a young
girl. But her mother never asked her to do a
thing about the house ; she was not allowed to
wet her fingers lest It might render them unfit
for the piano; and during all the years that
she spent In the high school and at the univer-
sity she devoted her entire attention to
science and literature and to everything, In
fact, but to that which she most needs now.
"A woman In Mrs. Hamlyn's position
would seldom need to cook, but If she under-
stood cooking as a science and delighted In It
as an art, she would so supervise the work as
to prevent waste. She would be absolutely
Independent of her servants and would have
no difficulty in holding their respect. And
then, too, her table would not be such a trial
to her husband's temper. If her artistic taste
212 The Education of Our Girls
had been developed along the lines of dress
and home adornment, It would contribute in
no Inconsiderable degree to her own happiness
and to the welfare of her family."
"Training of the kind you advocate," said
Miss Geddes, "might have sufficed In the past,
and It is doubtless all right for those who de-
sire it In the present, but there are many
women who have made up their minds to re-
main single rather than be any man's drudge.
I'd like to see myself doing the marketing,
paring the potatoes, washing the dishes, and
nursing the children, to satisfy any man. The
days for that sort of thing have passed. The
woman of to-day claims an equal right with
man to share In the things of the mind."
CHAPTER X
Domestic Science
"Mrs. O'Brien^ I am very glad to find you
on our side of this question," said Professor
Shannon. "From what you said last Friday
evening I Infer that you are quite satisfied
with the education that Mrs. Hamlyn received
In the high school and the university. I agree
with you In tracing her present troubles to the
training which her mother failed to give her
in the home, so the blame rests on her mother
and not on the university."
"I don't know who Is to blame for It," re-
plied Mrs. O'Brien. "Mrs. Hamlyn's mother
had a large family and she was a very busy
woman, but she was an excellent housekeeper.
She was an old lady when I knew her, but
even then It would do your heart good to go
into her kitchen ; she kept everything In It as
neat as wax. While I never saw her dressed
elaborately, she was always neat, and her
214 The Education of Our Girls
home always seemed so fresh and cozy that It
rested you just to go Into It."
"How was It possible for a woman like that
to raise such a daughter as Mrs. Hamlyn?"
asked Mr. Eaton.
"They make such demands on the children
in the schools these days that they seem to
leave time for nothing else," replied Mrs.
O'Brien. "When Mary and Arthur come
home from school they have so many lessons
to learn that It Is bedtime before they get
through. And conditions are much worse in
the high school. There Is not even sufficient
time for legitimate amusement, and in those
years when a young girl would most easily
learn to cook and sew and take care of the
home she Is so overwhelmed with school work
that her mother is In constant fear for her
health and wouldn't for the world ask her to
do another thing."
"In this fear the mother instinct is asserting
itself," said Dr. Studevan. "I wish all
mothers would read Dr. Engelmann's article
In Public Opinion for January lo, 1901.
Domestic Science 215
While we may not wholly agree with every-
thing he says, there Is undoubtedly a great
deal of wholesome truth In the article. He Is
quite right when he says that the present day
native American girl of the middle class Is
the artificial product of advanced civilization ;
that she Is a bundle of nerves encased in a
fragile frame and that there Is grave reason
to fear, unless a radical change is made In her
upbringing, that the consequences will be seri-
ous to the entire community. Less brain work
and more fresh air are the remedies that he
recommends.
''All this Is in line with what Mr. O'Brien
said at the beginning of this discussion. The
curriculum of the high school and particularly
that of the college has been shaped with a
view to the capacity of the young men and
with reference to their peculiar needs. Even
when the girl attempts nothing further than
the work outlined by the high school and col-
lege, she is, in those critical years of her physi-
cal development, seriously endangering her
health by over work. And, as Mrs. O'Brien
2i6 The Education of Our Girls
has just pointed out, she has many things to
learn which are of even greater importance to
her future welfare than are the subjects in-
cluded in the curriculum of coeducational insti-
tutions."
"And then," said Mrs. O'Brien, ''many of
these girls leave home to board in dormitories
or private houses during the time they attend
the university courses, and so they lose their
taste for domestic employment and get out of
the way of doing anything in the house. It is
during these years that our girls take on man-
nish ways and unfeminine attitudes of mind.
I marked this passage in an editorial in this
morning's paper:
" 'Recently, at a meeting of educators,
President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark Univer-
sity, returned to his charge with the declara-
tion that a further study of college statistics had
convinced him that ten years after graduation
about one-fourth of the men and one-half of
the women remained unmarried. He deduced
from this state of affairs that the higher edu-
cation tended to discourage marriage.
Domestic Science 1 1 7
** 'Other educators are loath to follow
President Hall In his declaration, and the
leaders of such women's colleges as Smith,
Bryn Mawr and Vassar think his reasoning Is
fallacious. They do not believe that educa-
tion Is the cause of failure to marry, but that
changed social and economic conditions are re-
sponsible, and they declare that when the col-
lege girl does decide to marry, she makes a
good wife and mother.
*' 'Of course, a layman must be chary of
venturing on ground where even the women
educators tread timorously, but It does seem
as If there might well be some soundness In
the argument of President Hall. The higher
education has done absolutely nothing toward
changing the fact that It Is the woman — edu-
cated or not — who must wait to be wooed and
won. Certainly, the higher education must
be a great aid to her In deciding, when the
wooer comes, whether or not he Is a fit mate
for her; and If he Is not fit, that same training
must give her strength of mind enough, know-
ing, as she must, the evil consequences of 111-
21 8 The Education of Our Girls
assorted marriages, to refuse him. At least,
the higher education has saved woman from
"choosing her mate from a mob," as Hood
said. She has learned, along with her Latin-
ity and other things, that a husband Is not an
absolute necessity; that. Indeed, If she can not
get the right sort, it Is, perhaps, better both
for herself and her race to have none at
all.'
"There Is some truth In what the editor
says, and In as far as he Is right, higher educa-
tion must be regarded as a blessing. If it only
kept people from marrying who were unfit to
be married there would be little cause for
complaint, but were that true there should be
a proportionate Increase In the number of suc-
cessful marriages, which, I am afraid, is not
the case. I think when the whole truth Is
known that the cause of this abnormally high
percentage of unmarried girls among college
graduates will be traced to the mode of life
in the colleges and coeducational universities.
If the girls were in charge of wise mothers
during these years, or if they lived In convent
Domestic Science 219
homes under the sweet and simple Influence of
the Sisters, there would be another story to
tell."
"Undoubtedly, your plan would improve
matters," said Dr. Studevan, "but I do not
think that it contains the entire solution of the
problem. It will be interesting to tabulate the
results among the graduates of such colleges
as Trinity, St. Elizabeth's, St. Clara's,
St. Mary's and St. Catherine's. Five years
from now will tell that story. But it is my
opinion that if the course of study is not so
shaped during those formative years of a
young woman's life and character as to blend
domestic employments with school occupa-
tions and lift the whole question of domestic
science to a high plane worthy of the intelli-
gent study of our brightest young women,
neither mothers nor sisters will be able to pre-
vent a very high ratio of bachelor-girls among
our college graduates."
"It amounts to this, then," said Miss
Geddes, "that woman must choose between
being a sort of upper-servant for some man:
220 The Education of Our Girls
to cook his meals for him, to make the beds,
and nurse the children, to look up to him most
devoutly, and coddle him for a week at a
time when she wants to get a new bonnet or a
new dress ; or she must get a college education
and, through It, Independence and freedom to
go and come as she pleases, to support herself
In a way that suits her own tastes and to meet
man on terms of equality. How long do you
suppose our young women will hesitate be-
tween these two alternatives?"
"Are we really confronted with such a di-
lemma?" asked Miss Ruth. "Domestic
science hardly consists In paring potatoes and
making beds. Its advocates see In It a source
of interest that flows out Into all the other
sciences of the curriculum. Physics, chemistry,
biology, economics and geography are clothed
with a new Interest for the student of domestic
science.
"And again, making woman's training iden-
tical with that of man will hardly secure her
the freedom and equality which she craves.
Her highest freedom, as well as her highest
Domestic Science 221
development, comes from obedience to the
laws of her own nature. This apparent di-
lemma w^ould, therefore, seem to arise from
the unfortunate attempt to force man's educa-
tion on woman's nature."
''That touches the very core of the diffi-
culty," said Dr. Studevan. "When God cre-
ated man and woman I am afraid that He
failed to take into account the entrance re-
quirements or the final examinations of our
high schools and colleges.
''All education should be determined by the
nature and the needs of the individual in ques-
tion. This has been my contention from the
beginning. Woman's nature and needs are
different from those of man and hence her
education should be different. The ignoring
of this difference is, in large measure, respon-
sible for the social disaster which surrounds
us on every side.
"Woman has lost her domestic tastes and
she shrinks from household cares. She is at
the mercy of her servants, who harass her and
squander her means until, in her despair, she
22 2 The Education of Our Girls
abandons her home for a flat from which chil-
dren arc banished.
"It is a misconception of the whole subject
to suppose that woman's intellect will be less
highly developed by subjecting it to a disci-
pline which is peculiarly adapted to the nature
of woman's intellect than by subjecting it to
a discipline which ignores woman's nature and
woman's needs and is shaped wholly in view
of man's uses."
"But," said Professor Shannon, "if the
work of the high school and the college is, as
Mrs. O'Brien says, more than enough to tax
the strength of the girl, where is she to find
the time or the energy for the cultivation of
those domestic arts which you seem to con-
sider such an essential part of woman's educa-
tion ? How is she to cultivate these arts with-
out lowering the standard of her college edu-
cation?"
"Oh, man has had woman for his slave so
long," said Miss Geddes, "that we must not
blame him too much if he now finds it hard to
give her her freedom."
Domestic Science 223
^'My dear Miss Geddes, I fear that I am
the most unfortunate of men since I always
seem to be incurring your displeasure/' said
Dr. Studevan. *'Now, I of all men should
have the least interest in holding woman in
bondage, for, whatever may happen to her,
my fate, you know, is sealed. I can only re-
ceive her ministrations from afar. And really,
I do wish I could convince you that the thou-
sand kindnesses which I have received from
the members of the fair sex have made me
their eternal debtor. And in this discussion
I am pleading their cause and contending for
their interests as I see them. I lay no claim
to infallibility, and whatever may be my mis-
takes, I beg that you will at least credit me
with kind intentions."
"It is very hard to credit you with any kind
of intentions," said Professor Shannon. "You
are so slippery and inconsistent that it is
scarcely possible to keep track of your moves.
I would be grateful to you, and I think I
may speak for the others present, if you would
take a day off to recall the various things you
224 The Education of Our Girls
have said on coeducation and the higher edu-
cation of women in these discussions. If you
will put your various statements together, you
may come to realize how hopeless it is for any-
one to quite understand you. We will give you
the floor for a whole evening and bind our-
selves not to interrupt you once, if you will un-
dertake to give a rational account of yourself."
"It would be worth almost any effort," re-
plied Dr. Studevan, "to keep you silent for a
whole evening, particularly if you will face
the other side of the room."
"Why, that's an excellent idea," said Mr.
O'Brien. "But would it not be well to let
others share our pleasure ? I am sure a num-
ber of our friends would be glad to hear Dr.
Studevan's talk. Let us have a little parlor
lecture some Friday evening that will suit the
Doctor's convenience. The room will com-
fortably seat about forty, so if each one pres-
ent will bring a half dozen friends, we will
give Dr. Studevan the platform, or we will
erect a pulpit for him if it will make him feel
more at home."
Domestic Science 225
*Tlease do, Doctor," said Miss Ruth; '*lt
will help all of us to gather up the fruits of
this discussion before passing on to other sub-
jects."
''I don't object In the least," replied the
Doctor. "No music delights me so much as
the sound of my own voice when lecturing to
a few choice minds. But If we are to gather
In a number of persons who are likely to be
Interested In this subject, would It not be well
to Invite those who have the means and the
inclination to help the work along? In the
meanwhile, let me try to put myself right with
Miss Geddes and In one detail at least to an-
ticipate my lecture.
"It seems to me. Miss Geddes, that we
should look at the whole subject in this way:
The advent of steam and electricity In the in-
dustrial world has removed from the home the
various employments which served to give an
objective training, both sensory and motor, to
many generations of boys and girls. Now, it
is the obvious duty of the school to supply to
the children in this respect what the homes
226 The Education of Our Girls
have ceased to give. At present the boy gets
this objective training in the laboratories of
physics, chemistry and mechanical engineer-
ing, and the girls should get a similar objec-
tive training in schools which teach the domes-
tic arts.
**The advent of the factory in the industrial
world has accomplished many things that have
rendered competition by home industry im-
possible. Among other things the introduc-
tion of science into the processes of manufac-
ture has brought about the utilization of by-
products unattainable in home industry;
things that in the home went to waste are here
made to yield a large proportion of the profits.
Thus In the manufacture of corn syrup there
are twenty-two valuable by-products, which in
the old days would have been returned to fer-
tilize the fields. Why should domestic science
not partake of the same general advance?
*'Is there any good reason why the girl
should not be taught the art of cooking with
the same care and with the use of the same
instruments of precision that a boy employs in
Domestic Science 227
his physical laboratory? And why should not
the preparation of food be made for her the
center of an interest which would radiate into
physiology, chemistry and botany, or why
should not the adornment of the dining-room
table and the artistic combination and arrange-
ment of pictures, bric-a-brac, rugs and furni-
ture In a home be made a similar focus of in-
terest for the development of her aesthetic
faculties ?
"Woman needs an objective training as
much as man needs it; but to deprive her of an
objective training along the lines of inherited
tendency and in accordance with her present
and future needs, and to substitute for this
training a laboratory training in mineralogy,
physics and mechanical engineering, is to cheat
woman out of her birthright. To make an
education that should be a means to her future
happiness the Instrument of her undoing can
be pardoned. If at all, only on the score of
ignorance."
"I had a good illustration of that truth
yesterday," said Miss Ruth. "I called to see
2 28 The Education of Our Girls
Miss Canfield In her new position as matron
of the Ophthalmic Hospital. She was nat-
urally anxious to have the table for the
doctors appetizing, and so when, an hour be-
fore lunch, the cook reported that there was
nothing on hand for the doctors' luncheon, I
expected her to be annoyed, but she didn't
seem so.
*'She asked me to go with her to the kitchen.
While we were there she found some small
pieces of chicken that were left over from the
dinner of the evening before. She directed
the cook to bake some potatoes, and, slipping
on an apron, she made some delicious ginger
bread. In three-quarters of an hour she had
a dainty luncheon served, consisting of baked
potatoes, minced chicken on toast, hot ginger
bread, home-made apply jelly and chocolate.
*'In the course of the afternoon one of the
doctors happened to come into the room
where we were sitting, and he took occasion
to thank Miss Canfield for the dehclous
luncheon, and vowed that if he could find a
young lady who could serve his table In that
Domestic Science 229
way, he would end his bachelor days as soon
as she would consent."
^'Granted," said Professor Shannon, "that
our young women need objective training
along the lines of domestic science; it does
seem reasonable that a young woman who is
looking forward to marriage and who expects
some day to preside over a home of her own
should receive a training that would fit her for
the worthy discharge of the many duties that
devolve upon a wife and mother.
"But isn't a convent the last school on earth
that might be expected to give a girl this
training? The mother is the proper person to
train her daughter along these lines, and If
her work must be supplemented In the school,
the teacher should evidently be a woman of
experience, a widow, for instance, who in her
day had presided successfully over a home.
What can a Sister know about managing a
husband and taking care of babies and direct-
ing a household?"
"It seems evident," said Mr. O'Brien, "that
the school should supplement the home train-
230 The Education of Our Girls
ing of the girl, and It should not be difficult to
differentiate the work of the school from that
of the home. Our mechanical and mining
engineers are trained In theory In the techni-
cal schools, while they receive their practice
In the factory and In the mine. And so, in
the training of our girls, the scientific and
theoretical sides of the question should be
handled in the school, and the mother should
take care of the practical applications in the
home.
"It is not easy to see how an experience of
married life will render the teacher more
competent to teach chemistry, physiology,
and cooking, or music and aesthetics. Many
years spent in the practice of a trade Is not
usually considered a proper qualification for
a teacher In a school of technology. For the
best results theory must ever render practice
intelligible, and practice must concrete theory
and render It tangible."
*'It is strange," said Dr. Studevan, "that
men like Professor Shannon, whose lives are
devoted to the study of economic and social
Domestic Science 231
problems, should fail to see that the persons
who are immersed in the details of a subject
are unable to get perspective, or to catch the
large lines of truth and the relationship of
parts.
''Men perceived the orderly movements of
the heavenly bodies long centuries before
they understood that the same laws govern
the movements of bodies in their immediate
vicinity. Newton sent a thrill of exaltation
through the world, not by the discovery of
the law of gravity, but by discovering that
the falling apple is subject to the same law
that holds the planets in their orbits.
"It is difficult to see truths that are close
to us. This finds expression in such axioms
as 'The doctor who prescribes for himself
has a fool for his physician,' and 'No one is
judge in his own case.' A prudent doctor
never prescribes for the members of his own
household; they are too near to him and his
affections are likely to blind his judgment.
Similarly, the Church in her wisdom appoints
a celibate clergy, who hold themselves aloof
232 The Education of Our Girls
from the business entanglements of the world
to be the guides and advisers of her children
in their domestic relations and In the justice
and equity of their business transactions.
"And so, too, the Sister, from her vantage
ground In the convent, obtains perspective.
She sees the needs and tendencies of the
times, and, not being Immersed In the details
of home life, nor blinded by personal Interest,
she Is enabled to take a broader view and to
hold up to her pupils a higher Ideal of domes-
tic life and to guide them more securely to its
attainment. Her position Is like that of the
general who withdraws from the firing-line
in order to direct the battle."
"Could anything be more fantastic," ex-
claimed Miss Geddes, "than a nun in her
convent home teaching a girl how to secure
domestic felicity! — a woman who has given
herself up to fasting and prayer teaching a
girl how to pander to the tastes of a fastidi-
ous husband! — a woman who has fled from
the joys of motherhood Instructing a girl
concerning the proper care of infants !"
Domestic Science 233
"My dear Miss Geddes, I am afraid that
you have never measured the height nor the
depth of the courage that animates our Sis-
ters. It Is not that they love home less, but
that they love God and their fellow-beings
more. We would utterly fail to realize the
sublimity of their sacrifice if we were to pic-
ture them to ourselves as shutting their eyes
to the joys of the world, or as abandoning
home life for the convent In order to seek
their ease or to escape the trials and responsi-
bilities of ordinary mortals. They look out
with clear eyes upon the happiness of the
homes they have left; their souls are filled
with visions of the beautiful homes that
might have been theirs had they remained In
the world. They devote their lives to the
work of bringing the happiness that they
themselves have renounced into the lives of
the many.^'
"Why don't you take to writing poetry,
Studevan?" asked the Professor; "it's a pity
to have such sublime conceptions limping
along in prose. But we are here dealing with
2 34 The Education of Our Girls
eminently practical Issues. Society Is teeming
with evidences of domestic Infelicity, and the
consequences are manifesting themselves in
very alarming ways. If the proper education
of our young women will remedy these evils
in any measure, we want to know what the
proper education is and where it may be ob-
tained?
"From what Mrs. O'Brien says, I take it
that a long step in advance would be made by
instructing our girls In the domestic arts.
We are, therefore, confronted with a very
practical Issue when we are asked to decide
upon the relative merits of coeducational in-
stitutions and convent schools. Is a nun bet-
ter qualified to teach the domestic arts than
are the teachers in our secular Institutions?
''A few evenings ago you called attention
to the heavy handicap under which the Sisters
are laboring in their attempt to teach the
ordinary school subjects. The number of
teachers Is Insufficient to meet the present de-
mands; they are hampered for means to give
their candidates the requisite professional
Domestic Science 235
training, or to provide for the continuance of
their professional studies; and if, in addition
to all this, household duties absorb their time
outside of school hours, how can we expect
them to master the science and art of teach-
ing, or to meet these new issues?'*
''The conditions to which you refer," re-
plied Dr. Studevan, "are neither universal
nor beyond remedy. The conditions will be
found quite different in many of the stronger
communities, but the Sisters are so modest,
and they do their work so quietly, that the
public at large is not aware of the splendid
preparation that many of their teachers re-
ceive, nor do our Catholic people appreciate
how anxiously these communities are striv-
ing to perfect their members for the duties
of their sublime vocation as teachers. They
have a very clear idea of what is needed and
only await the means, which surely will not
be denied them, to give their teachers the
best equipment that the science of our day
makes possible. The papers published in the
Catholic University Bulletin for July, 1907,
236 The Education of Our Girls
under the head of Notes on Primary Educa-
tion, show this very plainly. Sister Antonine,
writing on The Channels through which
Discoveries in Pure Science Reach and
Modify the Work of Primary and Inter-
mediate Education, says:
" The old idea that a teacher, like a poet,
is born, no longer obtains; the last word on
the subject is that he must he made. He, too,
is the product of our laboratories. Science
has decreed — and there is no gainsaying her
— that it is not enough for a teacher to have
natural aptitude or supernatural motive, a
personal love for the work or an all-absorb-
ing enthusiasm. He must be trained. If he
possesses these qualities it is well, but they
alone will never take the place of scientific
training.
*' 'Modern pedagogy demands much from
the teacher and to meet this constantly grow-
ing demand is the raison d'etre of our train-
ing schools and normal colleges. . . .
" The importance of the normal school
system can scarcely be overestimated in these
Domestic Science 237
days of physical research and discoveries In
pure science. Such schools draw their facul-
ties from the best universities where they
have been trained In methods, while their
students are the future grade and high school
teachers. In this pecuhar relation, the nor-
mal schools form a connecting link between
the universities and the grade schools, and
are thus enabled to transmit the message
received from the specialists in the one to the
pupils In the other by perfecting the teacher's
art and formulating a future working plan
based upon these discoveries.'
''Several years ago there was established,
under the shadow of the University of Miin-
ster, a Matroneum into which members of
various teaching sisterhoods are gathered,
where they live under a common rule during
the years of their attendance at the courses
given by the Professors of the University. I
saw In a recent Issue of 'Rome' that the Eng-
lish hierarchy had obtained the sanction of
the Holy See for the establishment of a
Catholic woman's college at Oxford. And
238 The Education of Our Girls
let us hope that the day is not far distant when
we shall have a Teacher's College for our
sisterhoods and our Catholic women at the
Catholic University of America. This would
unify our Catholic school system and at once
lift to a higher plane of efficiency the work
of all our Catholic schools.
*'Our teaching sisterhoods are making a
splendid effort to improve the training of
their candidates, and the generosity of the
Catholic people of this country will not long
refuse to them the help of which they stand
in such sore need. Feeling sure that we
would all be interested in first-hand informa-
tion concerning the training that our Sisters
are now receiving, I requested the head of
one of our representative teaching orders to
inform me on the matter. I have her letter
here, from which, with your permission, I
will read a few extracts.
" *In the large well-organized teaching
orders, the Sisters who teach are relieved al-
most entirely from household duties and give
daily from two to four hours to preparation
Domestic Science 239
for their classes. It Is true that Sisters who
teach in parish schools which are some dis-
tance from the convent, and in which, more-
over, the sessions begin at a very early hour
in the morning and close at four o'clock in
the afternoon, may have less than two hours
for preparation on school days. But these
Sisters as well as the others devote Saturday
and a part of Sunday to the study and read-
ing that their work requires. How many
teachers of the public schools do as much in
the midst of the home duties, shopping tours
and dressmaking, social calls and amuse-
ments, that fill their free time and their holi-
days? . . .
" *The large well-organized teaching or-
ders have training schools in their novitiates.
Those who govern these orders realize the
importance of suitable preparation for the
work of teaching, and they would be glad to
have all the Sisters who are destined for that
work complete a systematic course of study
during their novitiate and the early years of
their profession.
240 The Education of Our Girls
" *But under existing circumstances, all of
these Sisters cannot be kept In the training
school. Again and again It happens that
promising classes doing earnest work are,
month after month, thinned out by calls from
this parish and that, this academy and that.
The Superiors are obliged under the stress of
circumstances to send out the student-teachers
as assistant teachers to share burdens that
have grown too heavy or to take entire charge
of classes whose teachers have given out
under the strain of over-work.
" 'Increase the number of Sisters, send
more postulants to religious teaching orders,
and In a few years the training schools will
have large classes going through an uninter-
rupted course of study under mistresses who
have had years of successful experience In
teaching.
" *The Superiors look hopefully for this
good time. Meanwhile they do the best they
can to supply for deficiencies. Every evening
teachers of more experience help their
younger sisters In the preparation of school
Domestic Science 241
work. After this has been done, the teachers
assemble for model lessons prepared by the
supervisor or under her direction. For exam-
ple, lessons In reading. In number, ''object
lessons," designed to give the children new
ideas, but more especially to develop the
powers of observation.
" 'In work of more advanced grade there
are geography and history lessons, lessons In
the physical sciences, etc. The Sisters submit
their school work to the Superior and to one
another for criticism; they expose their diffi-
culties, ask advice, and discuss views on
school matters. The whole of Saturday is
given to study. There are regular Saturday
classes for the younger Sisters. These Sisters
follow, as far as possible, the courses of in-
struction that would have been given them
had they remained in the training school, and
they have examinations at stated periods.
Every teacher is required to forecast on
Saturday her work for the coming week, and
to submit her plan to the mistress of studies
or to the Superior.
242 The Education of Our Girls
(( r
'In many States the parish schools are
visited by ecclesiastical supervisors, but In ad-
dition to this the Sisters' schools have also the
supervision Instituted by the supervisors of
the order to which the teacher belongs. The
various communities of each province are
visited from time to time by the Sister super-
visors appointed for upper and for lower
grade work by the Provincial. These Sisters
spend several days in each classroom while
the Sister In charge gives a lesson in every
branch she is expected to teach. Besides giv-
ing private and general criticism of this work
the supervisors give model lessons at the even-
ing assembly of the community.
" *The summer vacation is a time of study.
Each Sister plans, or has planned for her, the
courses she must pursue either by private
study or in the regular classes that are formed
for teachers, In the novitiate training school,
or in the summer schools. These assemblies
are held In large convents desirably located
at various convenient points in the province.
The best teachers of the order and, whenever
Domestic Science 243
necessary, professors from colleges or univer-
sities, give courses of instruction extending
through six or eight weeks. For example,
our order held last summer, besides the novi-
tiate school, six summer schools. Subjects
suited to the needs of elementary and gram-
mar grade teachers, academy and high school
teachers, and teachers of music and drawing
were treated, special attention being given in
the course of instruction to methods of teaching.
" With all these helps, a Sister who has
any aptitude at all for the work must become
a good teacher in a few years, even though
she may not have had all the preliminary
training that is judged necessary. Add to
this the significant facts that Superiors have
every opportunity for knowing the special ap-
titudes as well as the deficiencies of their sub-
jects, that they make a careful study of these
aptitudes and, whenever possible, place each
Sister where her talents will be developed and
used to the best advantage while generous
support and help will be given to her in those
matters in which she is deficient.
244 The Education of Our Girls
"*The Sister herself , filled with the thought
that she has consecrated her whole life to the
sacred work of teaching, stirred by the desire
to make herself worthy of this consecration
and capable of doing her work well, eagerly
accepts the opportunities for self-Improve-
ment offered by her environment; she works
with an earnestness and perseverance that can
hardly be expected In the public school
teacher, who has, as a general thing, adopted
the profession of teaching primarily as a
means of livelihood during the period Inter-
vening between school days and marriage.
" 'Finally, a fact already suggested, but
worthy In Itself of emphatic notice, Is that the
religious teacher here spoken of never stands
alone or works alone; as a member of a well-
organized community and a well-organized
order she Is supported by the strength and re-
sources of a whole body of educated women,
all animated by the same spirit and working
for the same ends.' "
"Judging from this letter," said Miss
Ruth, *'the sisterhood In question devotes a
Domestic Science 245
great deal of time and energy both to the
normal training of its candidates and to the
continuance of the professional studies of its
teachers. But the important question is are
they adjusting their teaching to the demands
of the present social and economic condi-
tions? The conservative element Is very
strong in some of our teaching communities;
this is particularly true of some of the oldest
and the strongest of them. Extensive drill-
ing in antique methods does not constitute a
guarantee of good work. Many of the com-
munities do not continue the professional
study of their teachers, neither do they give
them adequate preparatory training. I am
not blaming them for this, I am simply stat-
ing the facts as I know them. That the nor-
mal school training furnished In some In-
stances, at least. Is not of the right kind seems
to be borne out by Sister Antonine In the
article In the Bulletin to which reference has
been made. May I read a few lines for you?
*' 'Reference Is here made to the Ideal nor-
mal school. Unfortunately, there Is another
246 The Education of Our Girls
kind where Instructors who are unchanging In
their methods, who adhere painfully to old
traditions, who have long since outlived their
usefulness by Isolating themselves from the
great educational movements, are neverthe-
less placed In charge of our future teachers.
Such directors of the mental life and growth
of young aspirants stifle every new thought,
kill outright every effort at originality.
Their enthusiasm died an early death, easily
traced to mental starvation; they have not
kept In touch with the latest developments
along educational lines ; they continue to teach
the theories and methods In vogue when they
themselves were under normal school Instruc-
tion— perhaps a generation or two ago.
There might be no evil results in pursuing
such a course in law or in theology; but In
pedagogy, the Injury done by such a system Is
Incalculable.' "
"Sister Antonlne's criticisms of non-pro-
gressive normal schools," said Dr. Studevan,
"applies to State normal schools quite as
truly as they do to the normal schools In con-
Domestic Science 247
nection with the novitiates of our religious
orders. Our sisterhoods, however, are labor-
ing under a very great difficulty in this re-
spect. The whole curriculum and method of
our modern school has undergone many pro-
found changes as a result of the abnormally
rapid development in the physical sciences
and as a result also of the fundamental
changes that have been taking place in social
and economic conditions. Now, the Sisters
must have help in adjusting the training of
their teachers to the new needs. Feeling this
pressure, many of them have sent their candi-
dates to non-Catholic universities and to
State universities, from which all rehgion is
banished. For some years the various
religious habits of our teaching communities
have been a marked feature in the audiences
attending the summer courses at these insti-
tutions. The result of this procedure, how-
ever, is proving disastrous. Our Catholic
girls, learning of the attendance of the Sisters
at these institutions, take this fact as a suffi-
cient guarantee that the institutions are in all
248 The Education of Our Girls
respects fit places for them to pursue their
academic studies. The losses to religion In
this way are likely to prove Incalculable In the
near future.
"Many of the communities, realizing this
danger and remembering the Master's warn-
ing, 'But he that shall scandalize one of thesQ
little ones that believe In me, It were better
for him that a millstone should be hanged
about his neck, and that he should be
drowned In the depth of the sea!' have re-
fused to send their members to these Institu-
tions. Of course they realize fully that there
Is little danger to the Sisters, for their re-
ligious life Is taken care of In their convent
homes. And, then, too, the faculties of these
Institutions are very careful not to give offence
to the Sisters, for they know right well that
the logic of facts will make the attendance
of the Sisters at these universities the best pos-
sible argument against the existence of Cath-
olic schools and colleges. And, as a matter
of fact, our Catholic youth of both sexes
have been flocking to these Institutions In ever
Domestic Science 249
increasing numbers during the past few
years.
"These same communities have not ceased
to hope for the time when their candidates
will receive the best and most modern train-
ing in Catholic teachers' colleges. And in the
meanwhile the brightest of their members are
enrolled in the correspondence courses in the
pedagogical department of the Catholic Uni-
versity. They have high ideals of what the
training of the teacher should be and they
will not rest content until the Catholic Uni-
versity makes some adequate provision for
their needs. This ideal is well set forth in
Sister Antonlne's paper in this brief passage:
" 'Those preparing for the position of
teacher should be under the direction of
specialists, the product of our best university
training ; men keenly alive to the great Impor-
tance of the noble work In question; steeped
in the new methods of investigation; men
fully aware of the possibilities of the science
and art of education in the schoolroom; sym-
pathetic to the struggle in every true teacher's
250 The Education of Our Girls
soul between the ideal and the real conditions
that hold in modern school life; men reahzing
fully the power In a school or in a community
of even one live teacher thoroughly prepared
for scientific work.' "
CHAPTER XI
The Woman^s College of the Future
"Dr. Studevan/' said Mr. O'Brien, "we
are waiting for you to appoint the evening for
our parlor lecture."
"Any time will suit me. How will next
Friday evening do?"
"Are there any objections to next Friday
evening?" asked Mr. O'Brien. "If not, the
motion is carried. Remember, each of you
is to bring any of your friends who may be
looking for an opportunity to do something
of permanent value for the cause of Catholic
education."
"There are some phases of coeducation that
I would like to have cleared up before your
lecture, Doctor," said Professor Shannon.
"That is, unless you intend to deal with them
in your lecture.
"Even if we grant the contention that
woman needs training in needle work, domes-
252 The Education of Our Girls
tic science, the care of babies and several other
subjects that find no place in a man's educa-
tion, still I do not see why, with the elective
system that now generally obtains in our uni-
versities, this may not be accomplished, even
though the institution be coeducational. Our
young women need training in literature,
physics, chemistry, biology, and in many other
branches which are universally recognized as
necessary parts of man's education. Why,
therefore, should the boys and girls not meet
in these classes and separate when it comes to
a question of the studies which are peculiarly
adapted to the needs of each sex?"
"In looking over the files of the Indepen-
dent the other day," said Dr. Studevan, "I
found in the issue of February 12, 1903, an
article by Henry Finck on 'Why Coeducation
IS Losing Ground.' In this article he touches
your question and incidentally lends confirma-
tion to much of what I have been saying. Let
me read a page for you.
" 'When women began, some decades ago,
to seek the higher education in considerable
Woman's College of the Future 253
numbers, nearly all of them Intended to be-
come teachers or to compete with men other-
wise. Therefore, it seemed a matter of
course that they should receive the same
training. . . . But at Bryn Mawr two-thirds
of the students have no expectation of sup-
porting themselves. In schools in general,
especially the coeducational institutions which
monopolize the West, the proportion of girls
who expect to be supported by husbands is
much greater still. Indeed, the census figures
show that the country through ninety of every
hundred women get married and this brings
us to the principal reason why belief in coedu-
cation is losing ground. Parents are asking
themselves more and more frequently, "Shall
our educational system continue to be adapted
to the ten per cent, of the women who do not
marry, or should it be adapted to the ninety
per cent, who do marry?" This growing feel-
ing against mixed schools would have swept
many of them out of existence long ago were
it not for the unfortunate fact that the
separate colleges for women have not done
254 The Education of Our Girls
their full duty. They have so far failed to
adapt their courses to the special needs of
women who are destined to be wives, mothers,
homemakers. . . . We may go further and
say that in most of our educational institutions
all the students are trained for fatherhood —
the girls as well as the boys !' "
"Apart from his startling climax, Mr.
Finck seems to support my contention," said
Professor Shannon. "If women's colleges
have not adapted their courses to meet the
special needs of women, they are open to all
the objections which you have urged against
coeducational institutions, while they lack the
undoubted advantages that are offered by
them."
"That IS always the way with you. Shan-
non, you run off with half-baked conclusions.
Women's colleges are comparatively new in-
stitutions, they are frequently hampered by
want of financial support, particularly in the
West, where they are wholly private, whereas
the coeducational institutions of the West are
part of the State system.
Woman's College of the Future 255
"But because women's colleges have not
reached their full development up to the pres-
ent Is a very poor reason for supposing that
they shall not do so In the near future. All
the logic of the situation Is on their side, and
they have In themselves large possibilities of
adjustment to woman's needs, which are not
to be found In coeducational Institutions, how-
ever powerful these latter may be from a finan-
cial point of view."
*'Mr. FInck was evidently not thinking of
the colleges for women conducted by our sis-
terhoods," said Miss Ruth. "Our convent
schools have always aimed at fitting their
pupils for domestic life. On a recent visit to
one of our convent libraries I found a copy of
the first edition of the *UrsulIne Rule.' The
book was published in France something over
two hundred years ago, and I was not a little
surprised to find In It explicit directions for
the training of their pupils in domestic science ;
needlework, cooking, housekeeping, were all
Included in the course.
"Conditions have changed radically since
256 The Education of Our Girls
that time, but there is every reason to hope
that the Institutions that were able to adjust
their courses of instruction to the needs of the
time In the past will be able to meet the new
conditions with equal success. In the zeal
and devotion of their members the sisterhoods
have resources which far outweigh the su-
perior financial backing of coeducational in-
stitutions.
*'No one who reads the paper on motor and
manual training in the July Bulletin will have
any misgivings about the adjustment of such
colleges as St. Clara's to the needs of the
hour. Let me read a brief passage from it.
" 'Manual training cannot be neglected if
the whole child Is to be educated. This is an
accepted conclusion among educators, and one,
too, which has been established beyond doubt
both by argument and experiment. A general
education in this line will have an important
bearing on the pupil's future vocation and suc-
cess In life. The mind and hand are trained
together, and there Is thus begun a connecting
link between the world of thought and that of
Woman's College of the Future 257
action. By Its means energies which might al-
ways have remained latent are roused, Inter-
ested and held. Through It result or should
result aesthetic products of handicraft which
satisfy even the spiritual wants of mankind.
... In the school kitchen are learned lessons
regarding hygiene and nutrition, and in the
sewing room, lessons in care, thrift, economy,
and neatness. ... In fact, It dignifies manual
labor, and makes education democratic rather
than aristocratic y for it attends to the needs
of the many rather than to the culture of the
few. If this branch were properly taught
everywhere, the schools would no longer be
blamed for increasing discontent and for
merely cultivating capacity to feel wants, with-
out providing means for satisfying them.'
"But to return to Mr. FInck's article, what
kind of specific training does he advocate for
girls?"
"There is more of the spirit of true
progress," said Dr. Studevan, "in the little
paper which you have just been reading than
In anything that is contained In Mr. FInck's
258 The Education of Our Girls
article. Nevertheless, his thoughts are worth
attending to and his suggestions are along
practical lines. He would have the teachers
taught the kindergarten system; he would
have all our girls trained in the duties of a
nurse, in hygiene, and sanitation in general, in
cookery with all its kindred branches, in mar-
keting, food adulterants, and gastronomy in
general.
'Whether or not we agree with Mr.Finck's
ideas as to what should constitute the training
of a woman who is destined to be a home-
maker, it seems evident to me that even in
such branches as literature, geography, chem-
istry, and biology, which should form part of
the education of both boys and girls, the point
of departure and the source of interest are dif-
ferent for the two sexes, and hence they can
be taught more effectively to each sex
separately.
"I have expressed my views on this sub-
ject several times, but it occurs to me that
Miss Ruth has been asking questions and pro-
posing difficulties instead of giving us her
Woman's College of the Future 259
ideas concerning the education that is best
fitted to meet the needs of our young women."
"Now you've said It," said Mr. O'Brien.
"She has been diligently gleaning the field,
and it is about time she paid her tribute."
*'I am not quite clear on the subject," re-
plied Miss Ruth. "I have been trying very
hard to get my ideas straightened out. I am
responsible for the education of my little
niece, who is now twelve years old, and I must
soon come to a practical conclusion. I don't
yet know where to educate her.
"I want her when she leaves school to have
certain ideals. I want her to have a woman's
heart that will Impel her to help a brother or
a sister in need without too much counting of
the cost. I want her to have a sufficiently level
head to keep her heart from leading her into
anything very imprudent. I want her to have
a wholesome self-respect. I want her to know
that others are not necessarily wrong and fit
subjects for unkind criticism just because they
do not think and speak and act just as she and
her set do. I want her always to speak the
26o The Education of Our Girls
truth. I want her to be able to speak and
write her mother tongue, at least, correctly
and easily, and then know when to keep still,
and when to talk. I want her to enjoy good
literature and beauty In all Its forms. I want
her to take an Interest in affairs outside of her
immediate duties. I would want her to be a
good housekeeper. I want her to know the
foundation principles governing the physical,
mental, and moral up-bringing of children. I
want her to have a cheerful disposition, a
strong sense of humor, gracious manners, and
the fear of the Lord, that is the beginning of
wisdom.
**As I think of It, her ideals should be in
three particulars, at least, those of Chaucer's
Very parfait, gentle knight;' she should love
*truthe and honour, freedom and courtelsye.'
Freedom Is a magnificent word, there Is
a large fascination about It, perhaps because
the state It expresses Is unattainable; but I
reckon my little girl would better be taught
from the beginning to call it service. And so,
you see, her characteristics are to conform in
Woman*s College of the Future 261
three parts to the ideal masculine. Where
shall she be educated? I don't know. I
should want to keep her at home until her
ideals were formed — well sprouted anyway.
What would you do with her, Mrs. O'Brien?"
"Mary is attending the Sisters' school, and
Miles and I are delighted with her progress.
When she graduates from the academy we
hope to send her to a woman's college con-
ducted by the Sisters. I would be afraid to
trust my little girl anywhere else. I want her
to spend all her school days in an atmosphere
that is permeated with Catholic thought and
feeling. Whether she becomes a Sister or not
I want the sweet, devoted lives of the Sisters
to exert the fullest possible influence on the
formation of her character.
"We have not yet decided on the college to
which we will send her; there are many
things to be considered. We want her to re-
ceive a thorough training in domestic science
and in all those subjects which will help to
make her future home happy, and we would
like to place her In a college where she would
262 The Education of Our Girls
enjoy some social advantages. A girl during
her college years should learn to meet men
and to adjust herself to their point of view."
"But aren't women's colleges," said Profes-
sor Shannon, "doing what President Harper
set out to do in Chicago University? Aren't
they teaching women the same things that are
taught to men and teaching them in the same
way?"
"At the State University which I attended,"
said Miss Geddes, "there was practical segre-
gation, because the men and women seldom
selected the same subjects; yet there was
enough mingling of the sexes to give the girls
something of the broader, more impersonal
view of a question that a manly man takes.
As far as my observation goes, I like the prod-
uct of coeducation better than that of the
woman's college."
"I brought along Munsey^s Magazine for
February, 1906, containing the article by
G. Stanley Hall on coeducation that was re-
ferred to the other night," said Dr. Studevan.
"That the presidents of two great universities,
Woman's College of the Future 263
such as Clark and Leland Stanford, should
make coeducation the subject of magazine ar-
ticles is in itself sufficiently indicative of the
present widespread interest in the subject.
Some passages in President Hall's article
cover ground that has already been gone over
in our discussion. Let me read a few extracts
for you.
" *The thirty years' war which women have
conducted for educational opportunities equal
to those of men has now, for the most part,
been won, or is sure soon to be won, all along
the line. It was a holy war, and will forever
mark an epoch not only in the history of
woman, but of civilization. There are few
men now living so conservative as to wish to
take any backward step. The educational
movement has been accompanied by a great
social movement that has freed women from
many gross limitations and opened a new
world of opportunities and influences. It has
had its great leaders, and even its specialists,
as well as its literature, its epochs, and its
dramatic incidents. Measured by about all
264 The Education of Our Girls
the pedagogic standards that can be named,
women have abundantly proven their intel-
lectual equality with men, whom, in most
high schools and colleges, and in many if not
most subjects, they actually outrank. In all
this I both believe and rejoice.
" *It is not yet so well recognized that we
have reached a new educational stage, and
that the time is now ripe for important new
departures. First, equality of opportunity
had to be attained, and ability to utilize
it practically demonstrated ; but now that this
has been done, the next step of differentiation
is in order. No less momentous changes im-
pend, but all the problems are of a different
order and in a very different field, and their
solution will require the labors of new leaders
working by new and far more special methods.
" *The old war assumed equality, If not
identity, of abilities between the two sexes,
and this was genetically and strategically wise.
The new movement is based upon sexual dif-
ferences, not identities.'
"The whole article is well worth our study,
Woman's College of the Future 265
but his statement, quoted here the other even-
ing, that ten years after graduation fifty per
cent, of our college women remain unmarried,
is sufficient proof of his main thesis that the
college education of men and women must in
the future be conducted along different lines
and with special reference to the needs of each
sex and to their special functions in society.
After pointing out the menace to the public
welfare in the feminization of education, he
goes on to say :
" 'The bottom facts, however, from which
we can never get away, are that men and
women differ in their bodily constitution, their
organs, their biological and their physiologi-
cal functions. This divergence is most
marked and sudden in the pubescent period,
when by almost world-wide consent boys and
girls separate more or less, and, during this
most critical period of inception, lead lives
more or less apart for a few years, until the
ferment of body and mind, which results in
the maturity of the functions then born and
culminating in nubility, has done its work. At
266 The Education of Our Girls
twelve or fourteen, brothers and sisters de-
velop Interests more independent of each other
than before; their home occupations, plays,
games, tastes differ. We should respect this
law, and not forget that motherhood is a very
different thing from fatherhood, so that
neither sex should copy or set patterns for the
other, but each should play its part in the
great harmony.
" *So, too, civilization differentiates. In
savagery, men and women are more alike in
their physical structure, and often In their oc-
cupations. But with real progress the sexes
diverge. Among primitive races there is
sometimes very little difference In the habits of
industry or the form of the body to dis-
tinguish the sexes; but, as Professor Hyatt
used to urge, differentiation and cIvIHzatlon
are practically synonymous, and equahzatlon
means retrogression. Education should push
sex distinctions to their uttermost, make boys
more manly and girls more womanly. . . .
Sex tension Is one of the subtlest and most
potent of all psychological agencies. Each
Woman's College of the Future 267
ought to find the presence of the other the
tonic and stimulus to its very highest and best
achievements, but incessant and prolonged
famiharity wears down this idealizing influ-
ence to the dull monotony of the daily routine/
''Stanley Hall is the best known authority
in the country on the psychology of adoles-
cence, and on this account alone his view will
necessarily carry great weight, but he does not
rely on his psychological preeminence; he
backs up his statements with an array of facts
gleamed from the experiment in coeducation
that we are making on so large a scale."
"Other college men do not think as poorly
of woman as Stanley Hall seems to," said
Miss Geddes. "I have clipped out this news-
paper account of Mr. Meekins' address to the
alumnae of the College of Notre Dame, of
Maryland. Let me read it for you.
" 'Mr. Lynn R. Meekins, who delivered
the address of the day, said that the one thing
shown most forcibly by literature, past and
present, is man's failure to recognize the pos-
sibilities of woman. That is to be changed.
268 The Education of Our Girls
Man has written the books, and they tell of
man. There is not a real history of the world.
There Is lacking particularly a good history
of America. We are sadly in need of some-
thing that will approach a historical sketch of
our own State.
" 'It is impossible to get from what we call
history even a fairly good account of woman's
work and her relation to human advancement.
She simply hasn't received the credit for what
she has done. That paragon of modesty,
man, has taken It all. Occasionally, conscious
of his sins, he has burst forth in eulogy upon
the glory of womanhood. But eulogies do not
count, except as epitaphs and at funerals.
What is needed is clear acknowledgment of
woman's part In human affairs.
" 'The future woman will marry and she
will not be the sweet silent partner who will
believe In an eight-hour day for her husband
and a sixteen-hour day for herself. She will
not consider the highest joy of life the cook-
ing of a Sunday dinner for a large number of
her husband's friends and relatives. The fu-
Woman's College of the Future 269
ture woman is going to make more of her
time, to fill it with effort along intelligent
lines. She is going to systematize the home
and solve the problems of the home.
" 'Behind every one of the moral uplifts
which we have known in recent years has been
the moral power of the women. Whatever
woman has done, whatever she is doing, what-
ever she may do, there is no service greater
or better or more beautiful than the help
which she gives and which compels from such
a writer as Rudyard Kipling the confession
that "when a man does good work out of all
proportion to his pay, in seven cases out of nine
there is a woman at the back of his virtue." '
"Nevertheless, we should not forget," said
the Professor, "that David Starr Jordan,
President of Leland Stanford University, and
ex- President of the National Teachers' Asso-
ciation, defends the opposite view in Munsey^s
for March, 1906. He claims that coeduca-
tion has been tried and that it has proved an
unqualified success in the West."
"That depends on what he understands as
270 The Education of Our Girls
success,'^ replied Dr. Studevan. *'In his own
university the number of women was limited
by its constitution to five hundred, and it is
said by many who are in a position to know
that this constitutional provision saved Leland
Stanford from becoming practically a woman's
college. If the number of women attending
Western universities Is a proof of the success
of coeducation, then President Jordan is cor-
rect. The whole question of Coeducation ver-
sus the Higher Education of Women re-
solves Itself, therefore, into the question of
what constitutes the proper Ideal for a college
woman. This theme formed the subject of
Dr. Pace's address to the graduates of Trinity
College in June, 1904, and it was published
in part In Vol. II. of the Report of the Com-
missioner of Education for that year (page
2426) . I can not do better than read a short
extract for you to close this discussion.
*' The Ideal of the college woman, as we
understand it, is threefold. In the first place,
the college woman Is one who has received
much, she Is one who during her collegiate
Woman's College of the Future 27 i
experience has come to know the greatest
minds of the past, who has dwelt with the
thoughts and the deeds and the aims of the
greatest minds of antiquity; she is one who,
perhaps, may not know by direct experience
the world for which she is preparing, but she
is one who has learned of a greater world, the
world from which we draw our culture, our
refinement, our civiHzation, and our religion,
and because during these four years the col-
lege woman has been associated spiritually
with the great minds of that past, she looks
out upon the world of the present from
a higher point of view, from a point of view
that is more spiritual, that is deeper, and in
a certain sense more filled with the practical
ideas of solid wisdom.
" 'The college woman, moreover, is one who
has kept much, one who in dealing with the
treasures of the past has not merely handled
them and set them aside, but who has stored
up in her own mind wisdom, in her own heart
strength, so that there within her being there
is created a sanctuary to which in her thoughts
272 The Education of Our Girls
she may retire, she may withdraw from the
clamor and distractions and disturbance of
the world and find within herself the source
of her strength. The college woman who
has been really educated along the right lines
does not go beyond herself, beyond the sphere
of her own activities to find her pleasures, to
find her consolations, to find her strength — for
education. If It means anything, means that
there has been created within the mind the
source of genuine pleasure, of best consola-
tion, and of greatest strength.
" The college woman Is one who has not
only received much and kept much, but who
is able to give and who gives much. It Is a
false Idea to think that the woman educated
in college Is one who has learned to live among
books alone. Is one who treasures her culture,
her refinement, for herself alone; but at the
proper time and In the proper circumstances,
guided by that Inner Instinct which comes
from culture and education, the college
woman Is able to go forth as through the gates
of the sanctuary to dispense upon others the
Woman's College of the Future 273
blessings which she herself has received. The
college woman, because she is cultured, does
not thereby look down upon those who have
not had the same advantages; on the contrary,
culture means a broadening out of her sym-
pathies, she is ready to enter into every good
work and help those who strive to uplift
others ; consequently wherever we find a genu-
ine college woman we find that she is the
medium, the channel of communication, be-
tween all the culture, all the spiritual inheri-
tance of the race, and the entire race as it
exists at present.
*' 'Now, if that be, in a general way, the
idea of the college woman, what shall we say
of the college woman in our country? Are
there not here conditions which define in a
special way the sphere and the work of the
educated woman? We have only to glance
back, I will not say over our political history,
but over our educational history, to see that
by the very growth of our institutions there
has been prepared a special task for those who
receive collegiate education, and why? Be-
274 The Education of Our Girls
cause in this country, by the very fact that
there is a larger liberty, by the very fact that
it is a democracy, there is greater call for that
restraint, that self-control, that balance of
thought and action, which is implied in college
education, and because in our democratic
country women have a larger opportunity than
in any other country to exercise those powers
which are peculiarly their own. It is true
with this democratic spirit America has pro-
gressed as no other country has during these
last two or three centuries. We were accus-
tomed to say, and educators even up to the
last few years have been accustomed to regard,
that in the American life there were too many
tendencies of a material sort, that progress for
us meant simply advance in wealth and in the
development of material resources; but to-day
it is fairly recognized that alongside of this
material progress, nay, more, that by dint of
this material progress, there is also progress of
a higher kind. The intellectual progress of
this country is much more conspicuous to-day
than it was a hundred years ago, and hence
Woman's College of the Future 275
the woman who Is to take part in the national
life must be a woman prepared to recognize
what Is good In American life, and at the same
time to distinguish It from any tendencies that
might make for evil.' "
CHAPTER XII
The Homemakers of the Future
"Ladies and gentlemen/' said Mr. O'Brien,
"Mrs. O'Brien insists that an introduction of
the speaker of the evening is de rigeur, and,
being a product of modern education, I never
question my wife's judgment on matters of
this kind; nevertheless, I find myself at an
utter loss for an appropriate speech on this
occasion. I remember hearing some one say
the other evening that the college-bred woman
of to-day has a delightful habit of writing her
husband's speeches for him, and so, in my sore
need, I appealed to my wife for help, and she
informed me that an introduction should
always tell who the speaker is and what he is
going to talk about.
"I believe you all know Dr. Studevan quite
as well as I do — I was going to say that you
admired him more, but, on second thought, I
believe that is not possible. However, were
The Homemakers of the Future 277
he not present, I might be able to tell you a
few things about him which you do not know,
but his well-known modesty deprives me of
this opportunity of arousing the envy of his
many friends who have honored us with their
presence here to-night.
"At dinner, a little while ago, I asked him
what he was going to talk about this evening,
and he answered by relating an Incident that
occurred at the rectory the other day. The
assistant, who is a modest young man with a
good deal of common sense, came to the
Doctor for advice. 'Doctor,' said he, 'how is
It; you don't seem to give any time to
the preparation of your sermons and yet every-
body comes to hear you, and they remember
everything you say. Now, I write out my
sermons and work hard over them all week,
and yet I don't seem to make any Impression
on the congregation.' That's just it,' said the
Doctor. 'When you are writing your ser-
mon Monday morning the devil Is looking
over your shoulder and, when he has learned
what you are going to say, he goes around
278 The Education of Our Girls
through the parish preparing the people
against you. But when I appear in the pulpit
on Sunday morning the devil himself doesn't
know what I'm going to say.' So, you see,
there is nothing for me to do but to present
Dr. Studevan to you, and he himself will tell
you what he is going to talk about."
*'My dear friends," said Dr. Studevan,
*'it is, indeed, a great pleasure for me to meet
you here to-night. The task before me, how-
ever, is much more difficult than the preaching
of one of those impromptu sermons to which
our genial host has just referred. It is one
thing to move along with the sublime truths
of religion and morality in the unchanging
currents of the Church's teaching, and quite
another to hold an even keel in addressing an
audience like this on so tentative a subject as
coeducation and the higher education of
woman, where there are so many uncertain
currents of thought and when one knows not
from what quarter of the heavens he may en-
counter a sudden gust of feeling.
"We are entering into a phase of civiliza-
The Homemakers of the Future 279
tlon in which everything is new and strange.
It is a world filled with wonders. It is a
world where the impossible happens every
hour. Invention has driven man and woman
forth from the home of the old days, where,
animated with a common interest, they labored
together and spent their lives in loving com-
panionship. In this new world man and
woman have been enticed away from the
bosom of nature, where they had so long en-
joyed freedom and peace, protection and unin-
terrupted companionship, and they are caught
up in the vast wheels of modern industry,
where they eat the bread of discontent. Hus-
band is separated from wife, child from
parent, sister from brother, and each and all
fill out the weary hours of toil beneath the eye
of a taskmaster who has no power to minister
to their needs, who has no heart of mercy,
who has no care for their soul's salvation.
"In the social confusion resulting from the
industrial revolution through which we are
passing, men and women sometimes become
bewildered and are found fighting against
280 The Education of Our Girls
their own best interests, regarding themselves
as competitors and losing sight of the fact
that their interests must forever remain in-
separable.
"Older than modern civilization, more an-
cient even than the law which compels man to
eat his bread in the sweat of his brow, is the
decree of the Author of hfe which placed
woman by man*s side and made her flesh of
his flesh and bone of his bone, which made the
twain no longer two, but two in one flesh.
"The industrial progress of the present
generation has destroyed the industrial home
of the past, where husband and wife labored
and loved and lived their own childhood and
youth over again in the children that grew up
about them. The young woman of to-day
too frequently graduates from the college de-
signed to meet man's needs with a defeminized
ideal of home. The home of her dreams
throbs with intellectual life and is filled with
masculine ambitions; it is free from domestic
cares and it is undisturbed by the voices of
children. But it is not good for man to be
The Homemakers of the Future 281
alone, nor for woman either; the life of each
is incomplete without the other. They are
complements of each other, not duplicates.
They can not be separated and live. The
deepest law of their natures makes their in-
terests identical and renders it forever impos-
sible for them to be rivals or competitors.
"Man and woman must labor together in
building a new home to meet the conditions of
the strange new world in which they find
themselves. The home of the past was indus-
trial; the home of the future must be cultural.
The new organization of industry has resulted
in lengthened hours of leisure that should be
spent at home in the pursuit of the things of
the mind. The companionship in the work of
their hands that husband and wife have lost
they must find again in the cultivation of their
minds and hearts. In the past children grew
up beneath the sheltering roof of the home;
their conduct was governed throughout life
by local custom and family tradition.
"The home of the future must develop high
ideals In the minds of the children; it must
282 The Education of Our Girls
form their characters In such strength that, at
an early age, they will be able to face alone
all the wild storms of temptation and passion.
The home of the future must breathe a charm
so potent that It will gather to Its bosom each
evening the dispersed and weary tollers of the
day. The home of the future must be the
sanctuary of life and the dwelling-place of
love ; the mind must find In It room to grow in
all the realms of truth and beauty ; its atmos-
phere must be that of refinement and culture;
beauty must cover It with her mantle and cour-
age must protect It with his shield.
"Man Is tunneling the mountain and bridg-
ing the ocean; he Is ransacking the bowels of
the earth for its treasures ; he Is converting the
inaccessible wildernesses Into busy marts of
trade ; he Is banishing the thorn from the cac-
tus and the seed from the grape and the
orange. But woman must create the home of
the future. She must preserve in It the sacred
fires of religion and culture. Through It she
must save man from materialism and from
the worship of the golden calf. She must
The Homemakers of the Future 283
build a home in which he will find rest from
his toil, consolation in his sorrow, strength
to battle with temptations, courage in the
midst of disaster, and companionship in the
highest aspirations of his soul.
''If she fails in this, all her other achieve-
ments are valueless. It will profit nothing that
she should explore the hitherto undiscovered
regions of natural truth, that she should write
books or paint pictures, that she should help
man to build more bridges, or to construct
more high buildings, to reclaim desert places,
or to accumulate more millions.
"Of what value are all these things without
a home in which children may grow in
strength and beauty? If the race were to end
with this generation, 'think you we should
move another hand ? The ships would rot in
the harbors; the grain would rot in the
ground; should we paint pictures, write books,
make music, hemmed in by that onward
creeping sea of silence?' 'What doth it profit
a man to gain the whole world if he lose his
own soul?'
284 The Education of Our Girls
"What education shall a woman receive to
enable her to build securely a home that will
meet the present social and economic condi-
tions? The inadequacy of the training that
fitted her for the home of the past is at once
apparent. The lines along which her educa-
tion shall be conducted must be determined by
her nature and by the work that awaits her.
She must be enabled to retain her place by
man's side in his intellectual development.
"The progress of science that has so trans-
formed the outer world must, in her hands,
bring about a similar transformation in the
home. Manual labor must be transformed
and lifted to a higher plane by a knowledge
of domestic science. The hours that are thus
saved from toil must be spent in the adorn-
ment of the home, in the pursuit of literature
and art, and in the wider intellectual and
moral interests that are shaping the course of
advancing civilization.
"Woman must understand the forces that
are playing upon the unfolding lives of her
children and the environment into which they
The Homemakers of the Future 285
must enter on reaching maturity so that she
may wisely preside over their physical, mental,
and moral upbringing.
"It is quite evident that no education can
be too high or too good for woman. But her
education must be a development of all that
is best in her own nature. An attempt to mold
her into the likeness of man must always fail,
since their natures differ as profoundly as does
their work in the world. All such attempts
leave undeveloped in woman those qualities on
which her real success depends.
"It is true that, owing to present economic
conditions, most women must labor for some
years away from the confines of home before
they are permitted to build homes of their
own. But even here woman's work and woman's
sphere in the industrial world are beginning
to be sharply defined. Those years between
school days and marriage, which woman is so
frequently compelled to spend in the school-
room, the office, the shop, or the factory, help
to give her an intimate knowledge of the outer
world which will serve her well in the future
2 86 The Education of Our Girls
by enabling her, as nothing else could do, to
understand the cares and the hardships of hus-
band and children who spend their days in
the modern industrial arena.
"What schools shall undertake the educa-
tion of the home-makers of the future?
Surely, not men's colleges, surely, not coedu-
cational institutions, whose curricula, whose
spirit and methods were all framed in view
of man's nature and man's needs. Woman
must work out her own development.
Women's colleges must be developed along
the lines demanded by woman's nature and
woman's work in the world.
"As might be expected from her history in
the past, the Catholic Church will be the
guide, the counselor, and the unfailing support
of woman In her struggle to adjust herself to
the new demands. The attitude of the Catho-
lic Church toward education was voiced
by his Excellency, Monslgnor DIomede Fal-
conlo, the Apostolic Delegate, in his address
at Mount St. Agnes the other day. He said;
" 'The Catholics of the United States have
The Homemakers of the Future 287
recognized the important fact that If they de-
sire to foster In the souls of their children love
and veneration for their holy religion and
sentiments of respect and obedience toward
the law of the land, they must have their chil-
dren educated In a religious atmosphere.
Hence, they have spared no sacrifice In order
to have Catholic schools In almost every par-
ish and in every locality where the number of
Catholics justified the erection and guaranteed
the support of a Catholic school.
'' 'Besides parochial schools, in the course
of time a great number of colleges and acad-
emies have also been erected for the superior
education of youth. Truly, I may say that a
colossal work has been accomplished by the
Catholics of the United States for the Chris-
tian education of our people; a work which
calls for admiration and which deserves our
gratitude and our encouragement. . . .
" 'Permit me to observe that Institutions
for higher education have now become a
necessity In order to complete properly and to
crown, as it were, the vast system of Catholic
288 The Education of Our Girls
education which was so providentially estab-
lished in this country. For we must under-
stand it to be of the highest importance that
the system of Christian education which has
been introduced in the elementary schools be
progressively continued in the higher classes
in the academy, the college, and finally in the
university, in order that Catholic education
may be productive of its beneficial influence
in all its fulness.
'' 'Higher education will prove profitable
not only to men, but also to women. Hence,
we cannot restrict superior education to either
sex, since it is by its very nature destined to
extend its powerful influence to all the mem-
bers of the social body — to each according to
his capacity and condition in life. As regards
the superior education of women, I beg to say
that the philosophy of those who argue that
no particular attention should be paid to their
higher education is erroneous and unjust.
For if a superior education is useful to men,
why should it not be useful to women also,
since they are endowed with the same nature
The Homemakers of the Future 289
and the same capabllites for a higher Intellec-
tual and spiritual betterment? Nay, taking
into consideration the great Influence which
woman exerts, either directly or Indirectly, In
every state of life and position In society, the
necessity of her education must be acknowl-
edged by all who have at heart the welfare of
the family and the good of society. A wise
writer justly observes that If we wish to know
the political and moral condition of a State,
we must ask what rank women hold In It.
Their Influence embraces the whole of
life.
*' 'Be on your guard, therefore, that the at-
mosphere of the world contrasted with the at-
mosphere of the convent does not prove fatal.
Modern society Is rated by material success,
seduced by sensual pleasure. We need women
of strong moral character, who can withstand
the seductions that flatter the senses. We
need cultured women, whose culture does
not divorce them from duty, whose life Is
a force for truth and an example for all
time.'
290 The Education of Our Girls
"If our Catholic women are to retain their
sweetness and refinement, they must be edu-
cated by women in schools for women and
along the lines demanded by woman's nature.
If they are to remain faithful children of the
Church and models of civic and social virtue
to the women of the nation, their education
must be completed in distinctively Catholic
schools. All that is finest and sweetest and
noblest in woman withers and dies in coedu-
cational universities from which Jesus Christ
and the saving truths of His Gospel are ban-
ished.
"But if our sisterhoods are to develop
women's colleges and help to solve the many
pressing problems confronting the home-
makers of the future, provision must be
made for the adequate training of the Sisters.
Here, under the shadow of the Catholic Uni-
versity, there will arise within a few years a
Catholic Teachers' College for women, to
which the various teaching orders will send
their most gifted members to receive the high-
est training that the age affords and to carry
The Homemakers of the Future 291
back with them to their several communities a
knowledge of the latest developments in
science and of the most approved methods of
teaching."
INDEX
Addams, Jane, 127, 178,
180.
Adjustment of school to
social conditions, 127.
American woman, the, 69,
168, 170.
Antonine, Sister, 236.
and the professional
training of teachers,
245-249.
Apostolic Delegate, 286-
291.
on education of women,
286.
Associated Charities, 175.
B
Bachelors and compulsory
marriage, 188.
Bachelor Girl, the, 186,
187, 201, 204, 219.
and the Old Maid, 189,
190.
social service of, 203,
204.
Balmes on the elevation of
woman, 142, 143.
Catholic parents and re-
ligious vocations, 138,
139.
Catholic students at non-
Catholic colleges, 248.
Catholic schools and the
education of women,
290.
Catholic schools, efficiency
of, II.
sacrifices in support of,
287.
Catholic University, need
of, 192-105.
Teachers' College for
women at, 238, 290.
and the unification of
Catholic schools, 238.
Correspondence courses
given in, 249.
Charity, Sisters of, 138, 139.
organized, 175, 176.
and the religious orders,
176.
visitor, 173-176.
Chicago University, 18.
Children, 47, 48.
unlikeness of, 47-54.
development of natural
traits of, 48.
coeducation for, 59.
Christ and the elevation of
woman, 143, 144,
Christianity, and the voca-
tion to social service,
140.
and elevation of woman,
141.
Church, the Catholic, and
the education of
woman, 170.
and differentiation of
social functions, 160.
and the elevation of
woman, 172.
and adjustment to social
conditions, 174.
and education, 286, 287.
294
Index
Claim, the social, 125.
the family, 157.
Coeducation, 24, 25, 31, 33,
46, 50, 251.
experiment in, 114, 125.
Plato's view of, 115,
121.
and social adjustment,
128.
and social claim, 130,
167.
and Christianity, 138.
and the college man,
191.
and the elective system,
252.
losing ground, 252-255.
success in the West,
269, 270.
and marriage, 59, 67,
72, 80, 83.
and divorce, 59.
and health, 40, 41, 42,
different views concern-
ing, 7-
and the Catholic parent,
9-
a natural institution,
31-
in elementary schools,
57-59.
the failure of, 67, 128.
and the higher educa-
tion of woman, 103,
278-291.
advantages of, 8, 34, 35,
. 36, Z7, 59.
disadvantages of, 8, 9,
94, 95, 221.
College for women, 8, 251.
graduate, 158.
College education a neces-
sity to woman, 42.
College education and mar-
riage, T^i, 79, 216, 265.
College woman, 270-275.
Competition between the
sexes, 38, 39, 102,
107, 109, III, 190,
191, 195-98.
Contention and discussion,
178.
Contrast, principle of, in
art, 55.
in nature, 47, 55, 56.
in life, 55.
the source of creative
activity, 56.
its value in social inter-
course, 56, 57, 64.
in married life, 57.
necessary to intellectual
activity of children,
60, 63.
and the law of imita-
tion, 60.
in the grading of school
children, 54, 59, 60,
61.
among men, 47.
Convent schools and the
education of women,
144.
and the training of
home-builders, 185,
231.
Curtis, W. A., 190, 197.
D
Development of the sexes,
81.
and struggle, 155.
Development of women
and coeducational in-
stitutions, 172, 173.
and men's colleges, 173.
Index
295
Development of women and
the Christian relig-
ion, 172, 173.
Differentiation of social
function, 160.
and progress, 121, 124.
St. Paul's views on, 131.
Differentiation of the
sexes, 265.
progress of civilization,
266.
Divorce and late marriage,
74-
Domestic science, its place
in woman's educa-
tion, 211, 213, 219,
220, 227, 261, 284.
Domestic service, 198.
Dupanloup, Mgr,, and the
individuality of the
pupil, 48.
E
Early marriage, 72, 74, 75,
78, 82.
and higher education,
84, 86.
Education, the aim of, 46,
94, 108, 120, 167, 203,
207, 221.
and courtship, dj, ^2.
in Germany, 84.
in America, 84.
ideal for woman, 129.
and the development of
vocations, 155, 162.
and social service, 163,
171.
of wives and mothers,
186, 210, 229.
Educational methods, re-
adjustment of, no,
126.
Elective system and coedu-
cation, 252.
Engelmann, Dr., 214.
Ethical standards, the clash
of, 173.
Falconio, Mgr. Diomede,
on education, 286.
Family claim and the so-
cial claim, 129, 157.
Finck, Dr. Henry, on co-
education, 252.
Gibbons, James Cardinal,
7-12, 46, 47.
Goggin, Catherine, 23.
Gospel of Christ, gospel of
mammon, 76, 113.
Gospel of mammon, and
marriage, 'J2, yy.
Grading school children,
49, 52, 6z.
modification of present
system, 65.
and social laminae, 65.
H
Haley, Margaret, 23, 178.
Hall, G. Stanley, 216.
and coeducation, 262.
Heredity and woman's lack
of initiative, 29.
Higher education of
woman, 42, 288.
and marriage, 79, 97,
208, 214, 217.
and man's colleges. 171.
Historical argument for
coeducation, 126.
296
Index
Home, and the school, 50,
158.
solidarity of, 78.
dispersal of its mem-
bers, 78.
and the factory, 225.
of the past, 279.
of the present, 278-280.
of the future, 281-285.
the defeminized, 280.
Home-makers of the fu-
ture, 276, 285.
Huxley, Thomas, 56, 154.
Individuality of pupil, 64.
Cardinal G i b b o n s'
view of, 47.
Dupanloup's view of,
48.
I
Imitation in mental life of
children, 60.
and the religious dress,
161.
Jerome, Jerome K., 57.
Jesus Christ the model
teacher, 48.
Jordan, David Starr, on co-
education, 263, 269.
Late marriage, 72, 75.
and divorce, 74.
and the gospel of mam-
mon, 72.
Law of progress, 98.
Leadership, the penalty of,
100.
Liberty, the child's right
to, 48.
Life, ideals of, 70, 72.
plastic period of, yz, 78.
Little Sisters of the Poor,
139.
M
Man and woman allies, 102.
opposed to woman's
rights, 18.
vanity of, 27.
in literature, 71.
in art, 71.
in religion, 70.
and woman not dupli-
cates, 94.
selfishness of, 161.
conceit of, 268.
Manual labor, 284.
Marriage and the higher
education of woman,
97.
and coeducation, 67, 80.
failure of late, 73.
proper age for, y2).
and plasticity, 73-79.
and cultural inequality,
.85, 87, 89.
Meekins, Lynn R., the pos-
sibilities of woman,
267.
Merrick's Chameleon, 105.
Mixed college faculties, 51.
Miinster, University of,
237.
attendance of Sisters at,
23,7-
Miinsterberg, Hugo, 69,
128.
the American woman,
69.
N
Natural law, inviolability
of, 34, 47.
Index
297
o
Organization and social re-
form, 181.
Pace, Dr. E. A., ideal of
the college woman,
270-275.
Patriotism, development of,
153.
Plato on coeducation, 115,
121.
R
Religion and social service,
161.
Religious orders and pov-
erty, 177, 178, 181,
182.
Religious garment, 161.
Religious teacher, 9, 10.
ideal instructors of
girls, II.
and social service, 152.
equipment of, 195.
sacrifices, 233.
difficulties of, 234.
professional training of,
235-245.
at non-Catholic univer-
sities, 247.
Rousseau on the education
of women, 112.
St. Catherine's College, 219.
St. Clara College, 219, 256.
St. Elizabeth's College,
219.
St. Mary's College, 219.
St. Vincent de Paul So-
cieties, 175.
Savonarola, 164.
School and the home, 50.
country schools, 61-63.
crowded curriculum of,
214,
School children, grading
of, 52.
Scudder, Miss, 178, 180.
Secular schools, deteriorat-
ing influence of, 144.
Segregation, 18, 34, 40, 42,
95-
Sexes, symmetry in the
cultural development
of, 81.
mutual attractiveness
of, 27.
separation of, 34.
equality of, 18-30, 37,
100, 170, 193, 264.
differences between the,
43-46, 49, 104, 265.
inequality of, 85.
companionship, 279-291.
Sex characteristics, 25, 29,
31, 33, 43.
Shahan, Dr. T. J., 133,
141-143, 168-170.
and the American
woman, 168-170, 192.
Sisters of Good Shepherd,
139-
Holy Cross, 179.
St. Francis, 139.
Social claim, 125, 131.
vs. family claim, 129,
157. . .
recognition by the
Church, 133.
Social intercourse between
the sexes, 50.
Social service and the re-
ligious teacher, 160.
and religion, 161,
298
Index
Sisterhoods and the social
claim, 168.
the vows of, 176.
and the formation of
character, 261.
Symmetry in development
of individual, 90.
in development of so-
ciety, 91.
in the cultural develop-
ment of the sexes,
91.
Teachers, religious, 147,
152.
public school, 145, 152.
training of, 146.
burdens of, 148.
vocation, 9.
Jesus Christ the Model,
48.
and marriage, 159.
Teaching communities, 139.
devotion of, 10,
and Catholic parents, 10.
work of recognized at
Catholic University,
II.
Teaching communities, ad-
vantages of, 159.
Training, objective, 225,
256.
motor, 256, 257.
manual, 257.
of future home-makers,
. 258.
Trinity College, 219.
Trochilus and the croco-
dile, III.
U
University, function of, 71.
University, Catholic, 192,
238, 249.
Miinster, '2'^'].
Chicago, 18.
Ursuline rule, 255.
V
Vanity of man, 27.
of woman, 2^].
Vocation of the teacher, 9.
cultivation of, 11, 12,
160.
of woman, 186.
loyalty to spirit of, 131.
and Catholic parents,
138.
to social service, 140,
153, 160.
need of, 149.
and divorce, 160.
the cultivation of, test
of school's efficiency,
162.
to religious life, 181.
meaning of, 182.
to priesthood, 182.
and the social claim,
183.
and coeducation, 184.
and home duty, 264.
motive of, 208.
W
Wealth, obligations of, 150.
debasing influence of,
69, 77-
Wife, the ideal, 107.
Willard, Frances, 23.
Woman in literature, 22, 71.
in science, 22.
•in medicine, 23.
in the pulpit, 23.
Index
299
Woman in social reform, 23.
education, 23.
in journalism, 22.
the ideal, 259, 261.
the new, 36.
in the industries, 35,
107, 127, 190, 199.
in the Christian Church,
92, 133.
in Pagan antiquity, 115-
126.
higher education of, 8,
22, 24, 28, 180, 193.
and man allies, 102.
three vocations of, 186,
202, 203, 206.
at the bar, 22.
in college faculties, 23.
in the universities, 25.
and cheap labor, 39.
in art, 71.
in charity work, 71.
in Church work, 71.
and Christian marriage,
92.
and the penalty of lead-
ership, lOI.
Woman's independence
through education,
19, 28.
capacity for higher edu-
cation, 19, 21, 24, 33.
Woman's lack of initiative
due to heredity, 21,
29, 30.
new sphere, 35, 103, 108,
196-200.
intellect, 21, 28, 29.
Woman's rights, 18.
and pedagogy, 20.
and sociology, 20,
Woman's suffrage, 18, 23.
Women the friends of
Christ, 133, 134.
in Apostolic times, 134-
37-
the percentage who
marry, 253.
progress of, 263.
and human advance-
ment, 268, 269.
Women's college, 216.
and the social claim,
168.
of the future, 171-173,
198, 219, 252, 255,268.
and social reform, 179.
at Oxford, 237.
imitating man's college,
262.
ideal of, 270.
Y
Young, Ella Flagg, 23.
PRINTED BY BENZIGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
Standard Catholic Books
PUBLISHED BY
BENZIGER BROTHERS,
CINCINNATI: NEW YORK: Chicago:
343 main ST, 36 & 38 BARCLAY ST. 211-213 MADISON ST.
DOCTRINE, INSTRUCTION, DEVOTION.
Abandonment. Caussade, S.J. net, o 50
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Tesniere. net, i 25
Alphonsus Liguori, Works of St. 22 vols., each, net, i 50
Anecdotes and Examples Illustrating the Catholic Cate-
chism. Spirago. net, 1 50
Apostles' Creed, The. Miiller, C.SS.R. net, i 10
Art of Profiting by Our Faults. Tissot. net, 0 50
Beginnings of Christianity. Shahan. net, 2 00
Benedicenda: Rules and Ceremonies to be observed in some of
the Principal Functions of the Roman Pontifical and Ro-
man Ritual. Rev. A. J. Schulte. net, 1 50
Bible History. 0 50
Bible History, Practical Explanation. Nash. net, i 50
Bible, The Holy. i 00
Book of the Professed.
Vol. I. net, 0 75
Vol. II. Vol. III. Each, net, o 75
Boys and Girls' Mission Book. Redemptorist Fathers. 0 40
Bread of Life, The. 30 Complete Communion Books, net, o 75
Catechism Explained, The. Spirago-Clarke. net, 2 50
Catholic Girls' Guide. Lasance. net, i 00
Catholic Belief. Faa di Bruno. Paper, 0.25; 100 copies, 15 00
Cloth, 0.50; 25 copies, 7 50
Catholic Ceremonies and Explanation of the Ecclesiastical
Year. Durand. Paper, 0.30; 25 copies, 4 50
Cloth, 0.60: 25 copies, 9 00
Catholic Practice at Church and at Home. Klauder.
Paper, 0.30; 25 copies, 4 50
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies, 9 00
Catholic Teaching for Children. Wtnifride Wray. o 40
Catholic Worship. Rev. R. Brennan, LL.D.
Paper, 0.20; 100 copies, , 12 00
Cloth, 0.30; 100 copies, 18 00
Ceremonial for Altar Boys. Britt, O.S.B. o 35
Characteristics of True Devotion. Grou, S.J. net, o 75
Cistercian Order, The. By a Secular Priest. net, 0 60
Child of Mary. Prayer-Book. o 60
Christian Doctrine, Spirago's Method of. Edited by Bishop
Mcssmer. net, 1 50
Christian Father. Cramer. Paper, 0.25; 25 copies, 3 75
Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies, 6 00
Christian Home. McFaul, D.D. o.io; per 100, 7 $y.
Christian Mother. Cramer. Paper, 0.25; 25 copies, 3 75
Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies, 6 00
Church and Her Enemies. MiJller, C.SS.R. net, i 10
Comedy of English Protestantism. Marshall. 7tet, o 75
Confession. Paper, 0.05; per 100, net, 3 50
Confession and its Benefits. Girardey. o 25
Confirmation. Paper, 0.05; per 100, net, 3 50
Communion. Paper, 0.05; per 100, net, 3 50
Consecranda: Rites and Ceremonies observed at the Conse-
cration of Churches, Altars, Altar Stones and Chalices and
Patens. Rev. A. J. Schulte. net, i 50
Complete Office of Holy Week. 0.50; cheap edition o 25
Correct Thing for Catholics. Lelia Hardin Bugg. net, 0 75
Devotion of the Holy Rosary and the Five Scapulars, net, o 75
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Noldin, S. J.
net, I 25
Devotions and Prayers for the Sick-Room. Krebs, C.SS.R.
net, I 25
Devotion and Prayers of St. Alphonsus. net, 1 25
Devotions for First Friday. Huguet. net, o 40
Dignity and Duties of the Priest. Liguori. net, i 50
Dignity, Authority, Duties of Parents, Ecclesiastical and
Civil Povi^ers. Miiller, C.SS.R.
Divine Grace. Wirth.
Divine Office: Explanations of the Psalms and
Liguori.
Epistles and Gospels. Large Print.
Eucharist and Penance. Mullcr, C.SS.R.
Eucharistic Christ. Tesniere.
Eucharistic Gems. Coelenbier.
Explanation of Commandments, Illustrated.
Explanation of the Apostles' Creed, Illustrated.
Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doc-
trine. Kinkead. net, i 00
Explanation of the Commandments. Miiller, C.SS.R.
net, I 10
Explanation of the Gospels and of Catholic Worship. Lam-
bert. Paper, 0.30; 25 copies, 4 50
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies, 9 00
Explanation of the Holy Sacraments, Illustrated, net, i 00
Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Cochem.
net, I 25
Explanation of the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Bren-
nan. net, 0 75
Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of the Mass,
Illustrated. Rev. D. I. Lanslots, O.S.B. net, i 25
Explanation of the Salve Regina. Liguori. net, o 75
Explanation and Application of Bible History. Edited by
Rev. John J. Nash, D.D. , net, i 60
Extreme Unction. Paper, o.io; 100 copies, 6 00
First and Greatest Commandment. Miiller, C.SS.R. net, i 40
First Communicant's Manual. ^ o 50
Flow^ers of the Passion. By Rev. Louis Th, de Jesus-Agoni-
sant. o 50
9
net.
I 40
net.
I 60
Canticles.
net.
I 50
net.
0 25
net.
I 10
net.
I 25
net.
0 75
net.
I 00
net.
1 GO
Following of Christ. Thomas a Kempis.
With Reflections, O 50
Without Reflections, o 45
Edition de luxe, i 25
Four Last Things, The. Death, Judgment, Heaven. Hell. Mcl-
itations. Father M. v. Cochem. Cloth, net, o 75
Garland of Prayer. With Nuptial Mass. Leather. o 03
General Confession Made Easy. Konings, C.SS.R. Flexible,
0.15; 100 copies, 10 00
General Principlks of the Religious Life, Verheyen.
^ T^ fi^t, o 30
Glories of Divine Gr.\ce. Scheeben. net, i 60
Glories of Mary. Liguori. 2 vols. net, 3 00
Popular ed., i vol., net, 1 25
Glories of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, The. Rev, M. Han-
shew, S.J. net, i 25
God the Teacher of Mankind. Muller. o vols. Per set, 9 50
Goffine's Devout Instructions. 140 Illustrations. Cloth, 1 00
25 copies, 17 CO
Golden Sands. Little Counsels.
Third, fourth and fifth series. each, net, o 50
Gr.\ce and the Sacraments. Muller, C.SS.R. net, i ^3
Great Means of Salvation and Perfection. Liguori. net. 1 50
Great Supper of God, The. Coube, S.T. Cloth, net, i 25
Greetings to the Christ-Child. Poems. Illustrated. c Co
Guide to Confession and Communion. net, o 50
Handbook of the Christian Religion. Wilmers, S.J.
Jict, I 50
Harmony of the Religious Life. Heuser. net, i 25
Help for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. net, o ;,o
Helps to a Spiritual Life. Schneider, S.J. net, 1 25
Hidden Treasure. By St. Leonard of Port Maurice, net, 0 50
History of the Mass. O'Brien. net, i 25
Holy Eucharist. Liguori. net i 50
Holy Mass. Miiller, C.SS.R. net', i ^5
Holy Mass. Liguori. net, i 50
How to Comfort the Sick. Krebs, C.SS.R. net, i 25
How TO Make the Mission. By a Dominican Father. Paper,
o.io; per 100, 5 co
Illustrated Prayer-Book for Children. c.^5
Imitation of Christ. See " Following of Christ."
Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Bennett-Gladstone.
Plain Edition, net, o 50
Edition de luxe, net, i 50
Imitation of the Sacred Heart. Arnoudt, S.J. net', i 25
Immaculate Conception, The. Lambing, LL.f). o 35
Incarnation, Birth, and Lnfancy of Jesus Christ; or, The
Mysteries of Faith. Liguori. net] i 50
Indulgences, A Practical Guide to. Bernad, O.M.I, net', 0 75
In FIeaven We Know Our Own. Blot, S.J. net', o 60
Instructions and Prayers for the Catholic Father. Egger.
.^ net, 0 qo
Instructions and Prayers for the Catholic Mother. Right
Rev. Dr. A. Egger. net. o°50
Instructions and Prayers for Catholic Youth. net, o 50
Instructions for First Communicants. Schmitt. net, o 60
net,
I
50
0
25
net,
, 0
75
0
35
17
SO
0
25
i8
oo
o
25
net,
1 0
25
20
oo
net,
0
2S
20
oo
O
05
2
s<»
Instructions on the Commandments of God and the Sacramentt
of the Church. Liguori
Paper, 0.25; 100 copies, 12 50
Cloth, 0.40; 100 copies, 24 00
Interior of Jesus and Mary. Grou. 2 vols. net, 2 00
Introduction to a Devout Life. By St. Francis de Sales.
Cloth, net, o 50
Lessons of the King. By a Religious of The Society of Th«
Holy Child Jesus, o 60
Letters of St. Alphonsus de Liguori. 4 vols., each vol.,
net, I 50
Letters of St. Alphonsus Liguori and General Alphabetical
Index to St. Alphonsus' Works.
Little Altar Boys Manual.
Little Book of Superiors. " Golden Sands."
Little Child of Mary. A Small Prayer-Book.
100 copies,
Little Manual of St. Anthony. Lasance,
Illustrated,
per 100,
Little Manual of St. Joseph. Lings.
Little Month of May. McMahon. Flexible,
100 copies.
Little Month of the Souls in Purgatory.
100 copies.
Little Office of the Immaculate Conception.
per 100,
Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints. New, cheap edition,
net, I 25
Lives of the Saints. Large Size i 50
Lover of Souls, The. Short Conferences on the Sacred Heart-
Rev. Henry Brinkmeyer. net, i 00
Manual of the Holy Eucharist. Lasance. net, 0 75
Manual of the Holy Family. net, o 6*
Manual of the Holy Name. o s»
Manual of the Sacred Heart, New. 0 50
Manual of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin. o 50
Manual of St. Anthony, Little. o 25
Manual of St. Anthony, New. o 60
Manual of St. Joseph, Little. Lings. o 25
Mari^ Corolla. Poems by Father Edmund. Cloth, net, i 25
Mary the Queen. By a Religious of The Society of The Holy
Child Jesus. o 60
Mass Devotions and Readings. Lasance. Cloth, net, o 75
May Devotions, New. Wirth, O.S.B. net, i 00
Meditations for all the Days of the Year. Hamon, S.S. 5
vols., net, 5 o»
Mediatations for Every Day in the Year. Baxter, net, i 50
Meditations for Every Day in the Year. Vercruysee, a
vols., net, 3 50
Meditations for Retreats. St. Francis de Sales. Cloth,
net, 0 75
Meditations on the Four Last Things. Cochem. net, o 75
Meditations on the Last Words from the Cross. Perraud.
net, o 50
Meditations on the Life, the Teachings, and the Passion of
Jesus Christ, Ilg-Clarke. 2 vols., net, 3 50
Meditations on the Month of Our Lady. Mullaney. net, o 75
Meditations on the Passion of Our Lord. o 50
Method of Christian Doctrine, Spirago's. net, 1 50
Middle Ages, The: Sketches and Fragments. Shanan.
net, 2 00
Miscellany. Historical Sketch of the Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer. Liguori. /^ co n **^*' ^ ^°
Mission Book for the Married. Girardey, C.bb.R. o 50
Mission Book for the Single. Girardey, C.SS.R. o 50
Mission Book of the Redemptokist Fathers. o 50
Moments Before the Tabernacle. Russell, S.J. net, o 50
Month, New, of the Sacred Heart. St. Francis de bales.
net, o 25
Month of May: Meditations on the Blessed Virgin. Debussi,
g T^ net, o 50
Month *oF the Souls in Purgatory, "Golden Sands." net, o 25
Moral Briefs. Stapleton. «^^» ^ 25
Most Holy Rosary, Meditations. Cramer, D.U. iiet, o 50
My First Communion: Happiest Day of My Life. Brennan.
net, o 75
My Little Prayer-Boo k. Illustrated. o 12
New May Devotions. Wirth. «^*» ^ o(»
New Month of the Holy Angels. net, o 25
New Month of the Sacred Heart. net, 0 25
New Sunday-School Companion. o 25
New Testament. Cheap Edition.
32mo, flexible cloth, , «^^ 0 ^S
32mo, lambskin, limp, round corners, gilt edges, net, 0 75
New Testament. Illustrated Edition.
i6mo, Printed in two colors, with 100 full-page ill., net, o 60
i6mo, Rutland Roan, limp, solid gold edges, net, 1 25
New Testament. India Paper Edition.
American Seal, limp, round corners, gilt edges, net, O 90
German Morocco, limp, round corners, gilt edges, net, i 20
Best Calf lim.p, round corners, gold edges, gold roll inside.
net, I 50
New Testament. Large Print Edition.
i2mo, large, *^^*' ° 75
i2mo, American Seal, limp, gold edges, net, 1 50
New Testament Studies. Conaty, D.D. i2mo. o 60
Off to Jerusalem. Marie Agnes Benziger. net, 1 00
Office, Complete, of Holy Week. o 50
Cheap Edition. Cloth, cut flush, o 25
On the Road to Rome. By W. Richards. net, 0 50
Our Favorite Devotions. Lings. o 75
Our Favorite Noven.as. Lings. net, o 75
Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano. Dillon, D.D.
net, 0 75
Our Monthly Devotions. Lings. net, i 25
Our Own Will and How to Detect It in Our Actions. Rev.
John Allen, D.D. ^ »et, o 75
Paradise on Earth Open to all. Natale, S.J. net, o 50
Parish Priest on Duty, The. Heuser. net, o 60
Passion, A Few Simple and Business-Like Ways of Devotion
to the. Hill, C.P. 0.25; per 100, 15 00
Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. Liguon. net, i 50
Passion Flowers. Poems. Father Edmund. net. 1 25
Thoughts and Affections on the Passion for Every Day of
THE Year. Bergamo. net, 2 00
Pearls from Faber. Brunowe. net, o 50
Pearls of Prayer. o 35
Pepper and Salt, Spiritual. Stang. Paper, 0.30; 25 copies,
4 50
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies, 9 00
Perfect Religious, The. De la Motte. Cloth, net, i 00
Pictorial Lives of the Saints. 8vo, net, 2 00
Pious Preparation for First Holy Communion. Lasance.
Cloth, net, o 75
Pocket Manual, A Vest-pocket Prayer-Book, very large type.
o 25
Popular Instructions on Marriage. Girardey, C.SS.R.
Paper, 0.25; 25 copies, 3 75
Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies, _ 6 00
Popular Instructions on Prayer. Girardey, C.SS.R.
Paper, 0.25; 25 copies, $3 75. Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies, 6 00
Popular Instructions to Parents. Girardey, C.SS.R. Paper,
0.25; 25 copies, 3 75
Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies, 6 00
Prayer-Book for Religious. Lasance. net, i 50
Preaching. Vol. XV. Liguori. net, i 50
Preparation for Death. Liguori. net, 1 50
Prodigal Son; or. The Sinner's Return to God. net, 1 00
Reasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices.
Burke. 0 35
Religious State, The. Liguori. net, o 50
Rosary, The, the Crown of Mary. By a Dominican Father.
o 10
per 100, ^5 00
Rosary, The: Scenes and Thoughts. Garesche, S.J. net, o 50
Rosary, The Most Holy. Meditations. Cramer. net, o 50
Sacramentals of the Holy Catholic Church. Lambing, D.D.
Paper, 0.30; 25 copies, 4 5a
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies, 9 00
Sacramentals — Prayer, etc. Miiller, C.SS.R. net, i oo
Sacred Heart Book, The. Lasance. net, o 75
Sacred Heart, Devotion to, for First Friday of Every Month.
Huguet. net, 0 40
Sacred Heart^ New Manual of. 0 50
Sacrifice of the Mass Worthily Celebrated, The, Chaig-
non, S.J. net, 1 50
Saint Francis of Assissi. By Rev. Leo L. Dubois, S.M.
net, I 09
Secret of Sanctity. St. Francis de Sales. net, i 00
Seraphic Guide, The. By a Franciscan Father. o 60
Short Conferences on the Little Office of the Immaculate
Conception. Rainer. net, o 50
Short Stories on Christian Doctrine. McMahon. net, 1 oo
Short Visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Lasance. o 25
100, 18 00
Sick Calls; Chapters on Pastoral Medicine. Mulligan, net, 1 00
Socialism and Christianity. Stang, D.D. net, i 00
Sodalists' Vade Mecum. ^ 0 50
Songs and Sonnets. Maurice Francis Egan. net, i 00
Spirit of Sacrifice, The. Thurston. net, 2 00
Spiritual Despondency and Temptations. Michel, S.J.
ftct I 2?
Spiritual Exercises for a Ten Days' Retreat. Smetana,
C.SS.R. net, i oo
Spiritual Pepper and Salt. Stang. Paper, 0.30; 25 copies,
4 50
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies. g 00
St. Anthony, New Manual of. o 60
St. Anthony. Keller. net, o 75
St. Francis of Assissi,, Social Reformer. Dubois, S.M.
_ net, I 00
Stations of the Cross. Illustrated. o 50
Stories for First Communicants. Keller, D.D. net, o 50
Striving after Perfection. Bayma, S.J. net, i 00
Sure Way to a Happy Marriage. Taylor.
Paper, 0.25; 25 copies, 3 75
Cloth, 0.40; 25 copies. 6 00
Talks with the Little Ones about the Apostles' Creed.
By a Religious of The Society of The Holy Child Jesus.
o 60
Thoughts and Counsels for the Consideration of Catholic
Young Men. Doss, S.J. net, i 25
Thoughts for All Times. Mgr. Vaughan. o 90
True Politeness. Demore. net, 0 75
True Spouse of Jesus Christ. Liguori. 2 vols. net, 3 00
The same, one-vol. edition, net, i 25
Two Spiritual Retreats for Sisters. Zollner. net, i oo
Veneration of the Blessed Virgin. Rohner, O.S.B. net, 1 25
Vest-Pocket Gems of Devotion. o 20
Victories of the Martyrs. Vol. IX. Liguori. net, 1 50
Visits, Short, to the Blessed Sacrament. Lasance. o 25
Visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By the Author
of " Ave Spirituels." net, o 50
Visits to Jesus in the Tabernacle. Lasance. Cloth, net, i 25
Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Liguori. net, o 50
Vocations Explained. Vincentian Father. 0 la
100 copies, 6 o<»
Way of Interior Peace. De Lehen, S.J. net, i 50
Way of_ Salvation and Perfection. Meditations, Pious Re-
flections, Spiritual Treatises. Liguori. net, 1 50
Way of the Cross. Paper, 0.05; 100 copies, 2 50
What the Church Teaches. Drury,
Paper, 0.30; 25 copies, 4 50
Cloth, 0.60; 25 copies, 9 o»
JUVENILES.
An Adventure with the Apaches. Ferry o
Armorer of Solingen. Herchenbach. o
As true as Gold. Mannix. o
Berkleys, The. Wight. o
Bistouri. Melandri. o ^^
Black Lady, and Robin Red Breast. Schmid. o 25
Blissylvania Post-Office. Taggart. o 45
Bob o' Link. Waggaman. o 45
Boys in the Block. Egan. o 25
fj
45
45
45
45
45
Bunt and Bill. Mulholland. o 45
Buzzer's Christmas. Waggaman. o 25
By Branscome River. Taggart. o 45
Cake and the Easter Eggs. Schmid. o 25
Canary Bird. Schmid. o 45
Carroll Dare. Waggaman. i 25
Cave by the Beech Fork, The. Spalding, S.J. Cloth, 0 85
The Children of Cupa. Mannix. o 45
Charlie Chittywick. Bearne, S.J. o 8s
College Boy, A. Anthony Yorke, Cloth. o 85
Copus, Rev. J. E., S.J.
Harry Russell. o 85
Shadow^s Lifted. o 85
St. Cuthbert's. o 85
Tom Losely: Boy. o 85
Daughter of Kings, A. Hinkson. i 25
Dimpling's Success. Clara Mulholland. o 45
Double Knot, A, and Other Stories. Waggaman and Others.
I 25
Ethelred Preston. Finn, S.J. o 85
Every-Day Girl, An. Crowley, o 45
Fatal Diamonds. Donnelly. 0 25
Finn, Rev. F. J., S.J.:
His First and Last Appearance. Illustrated. i 00
That Football Gaiue. o 85
The Best Foot Forward. o 85
Ethelred Preston. o 85
Claude Lightfoot. o 85
Harry Dee. o 85
Tom Playfair. o 85
Percy Wynn. o 85
Mostly Boys. 0 85
Five O'Clock Stories; or, The Old Tales Told Again. o 75
Flower of the Flock, The. Egan. o 85
For the White Rose. Hinkson. o 45
Fred's Little Daughter. Smith. o 45
Godfrey the Hermit. Schmid. o 25
Golden Lily, The. Hinkson. 0 45
Great Captain, The. Hinkson. o 45
Haldeman Children, The. Mannix. o 45
Harry Dee; or, Working It Out. Finn. o 85
Harry Russell, A Rockland College Boy. Copus, S.J. [Cuth-
bert]. o 85
Heir of Dreams, An. O'Malley. o 45
His First and Last Appearance. Finn. i 00
Hop Blossoms. Schmid. o 25
Hostage of War, A. Bonesteel. o 45
How They Worked Their Way. Egan. o 75
Inundation, The. Schmid. o 45
" Jack." By a Religious of the Society of the Holy Child
Jesus. o 45
Jack Hildreth Among the Indians. 2 vols. Each, o 85
Tack Hildreth on the Nile. Taggart. Cloth, o 85
Jack O'Lantern. Waggaman. 0 45
Juvenile Round Table. First Series. Stories by the Best
Writers. i o«
Juvenile Round Table. Second Series. i 00
JUVENILE Round Table. Third Series.
XONDIKE Picnic. Donnelly.
Lamp of the Sanctuary. Wiseman.
Legends of the Holy Child Jesus from Many Lands.
Little Missy. Waggaman.
Loyal Blue and Royal Scarlet. Taggart.
Madcap Set at St. Anne's. Brunowe.
Mary Tracy's Fortune. Sadlier
Master P^ridolin. Giehrl.
MiLLY Aveling. Smith. Cloth.
More Five O'Clock Stories In Prose and Verse. By
ligious of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.
Mostly Boys. Finn.
Mysterious Doorway. Sadlier.
Mystery of Hornby Hall. Sadlier.
My Strange Friend. Finn.
Nan Nobody. Waggaman.
Old Charlmont's Seed-Bed. Smith.
Old Robber's Castle. Schmid.
One Afternoon and Other Stories. Taggart.
Our Boys' and Girls' Library. 14 vols. Each.
Overseer of Mahlbourg. Schmid.
Pancho and Panchita. Mannix.
Pauline Archer. Sadlier.
Pickle and Pepper. Dorsey.
Playwater Plot, The. Waggaman.
RiDiNGDALE BoYS, The. Bearne, S.J. 2 volumes, each,
Queen's Page. Ilinkson.
The Race for Copper Island. Spalding, S.J.
Recruit Tommy Collins. Mary G. Bonesteel.
Rose Bush. Schmid.
Round the World. Vol. I. Travels.
Saint Cuthbert's. Copus, S.J.
Sea-Gull's Rock. Sandeau.
Senior Lieutenant's Wager, The. 30 Short Stories.
Shadows Lifted. Copus, S.J.
Sheriff of the Beech Fork, The. Spalding, S.J.
Spalding, S.J.
Cave by the Beech Fork.
Sheriff of the Beech Fork, The.
The Race for Copper Island.
Strong-Arm of Avalon. Waggaman.
Summer at Woodville. Sallier.
Tales and Legends of the Middle Ages. De Cappella.
Tales and Legends Series. 3 vols. Each,
Talisman, The. Sadlier.
Taming of Pclly. Dorsey.
Three Girls and Especially One. Taggart.
Three Little Kings. Giehrl.
Tom's Luc spot. Waggaman.
Toorallady. Walsh.
Trail of the Dragon, The, and Other Stories. By
Writers.
Transplanting of Tessie, The. Waggaman.
Treasure of Nugget Mountain. Taggart.
Two Little Girls, Mack.
I
0*
0
8S
0
25
Lutz.
0
75
0
45
0
85
0
45
0
45
0
25
0
85
a Re-
0
75
0
85
0
45
0
85
0
25
0
45
0
45
0
25
I
25
0
25
0
25
0
45
0
45
0
85
0
60
0
85
0
45
0
85
0
45
0
25
0
85
0
85
0
45
I
25
0
8S
0
85
0
85
0
85
0
85
0
85
0
45
0
75
0
75
60
0
85
0
45
0
25
0
45
0
45
' Best
I
25
0
60
0
8S
0
45
Violin Maker, The. Smith. o 45
Wager of Gerald O'Rourke, The. Finn-Thiele. net, o 35
Wayward Winnifred. Sadlier. o 85
Where the Road Led, and Other Stories. Sadlier, and
Others. i 25
Winnetou, the Apache Knight. Taggart. o 85
Wrongfully Accused. Herchenbach. o 45
Young Color Guard, The. Bonesteel. o 45
NOVELS AND STORIES.
Carroll Dare. Waggaman. i 25
Circus Rider's Daughter, The. F. v. Brackel. i 25
Connor D'Arcy's Struggles. Bertholds. i 25
Corinne's Vow. Waggaman. i 25
Dion and the Sibyls. A Classic Novel. Keen. Cloth, i 25
Dollar Hunt, The. Martin. o 45
Fabiola. By Cardinal Wiseman. Popular Illustrated Edition,
0 90
Fabiola's Sisters. Clarke. i 25
Fatal Beacon, The. By F. v. Brackel. i 25
Hearts of Gold. Edhor. i 25
Heiress of Cronenstein, The. Countess Hahn-Hahn. i 25
Her Blind Folly. Holt. i 25
Her Father's Daughter. Hinkson. net, i 25
Idols; or, The Secret of the Rue Chaussee d'Antin. De Navery.
1 25
In the Days of King Hal. Taggart. net, i 25
" Kind Hearts and Coronets." Harrison. i 25
Let No Man Put Asunder. Marie. i 00
Linked Lives. Douglas. 1 50
Marcella Grace. Mulholland. Illustrated Edition. i 25
Miss Erin. Francis. i 25
Monk's Pardon, The. de Navery. i 25
Mr. Billy Buttons. Lecky. i 25
Not a Judgment. By Keon. 1 25
Other Miss Lisle, The. Martin. i 25
Out of Bondage. Holt. 1 25
Outlaw of Camargue, The. de Lamothe. i 25
Passing Shadows. A Novel. Yorke. i 25
Pere Monnier's Ward. A Novel. Lecky. i 25
Pilkington Heir, The. A Novel. Sadlier. i 25
Prodigal's Daughter, The. Begg. i 00
Red Inn of St. Lyphar, The. By Anna T. Sadlier. i 25
Romance of a Playwright, de Bornier. i 00
Round Table of the Representative American Catholic
Novelists. i 50
Round Table of the Representative French Catholic Novel-
ists. I so
Round Table of the Representative German Catholic
Novelists. Illustrated. i 50
Round Table of the Representative Irish and English Cath-
olic Novelists. i 50
Ruler of The Kingdom, The. Keon. 1 25
SoGGARTH Aroon, The. Guinan, C.C. i 25
That Man's Daughter. Ross. i 25
Training of Silas, The. Devine, S.S. i 25
19
True Storv of Master Gerard, The. Sadlier. i 25
Unraveling of a Tangle, The. Taggart. i 25
Vocation of I'Idward Conway. Egan. i 25
Way that Led Beyond, The. Harrison. 1 25
Woman of Fortune, A. Reid. i 25
World Well Lost. Robc-tson. o 75
LIVES AND HISTORIES.
Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola. O'Conor. Cloth,
net, I 2$
Anglican Ordinations. Semple, S.J. net, 0 35
Bad Christian, The. Hunolt. 2 vols. net, 5 00
Bible Stories for Little Children. Paper, o.io. Cloth,
o 20
Business Guide for Priests. Stang. i 00
Church History. Businger, o 75
Christian's Last End, The. Sermons. Hunolt, S.J. 2 vols.
net, 5 00
Christian's Model, The. Sermons. Hunolt, S.J. 2 vols.
net, 5 00
Christian State of Life, The. Sermons. Hunolt, S.J. 2
vols., net, 5 00
Golden Bells in Convent Towers. Story of Father Samuel
and Saint Clara. net, i 00
Historiographia Ecclesiastica quam Historiae seriam Solidam-
que Operam Navantibus, Accommodavit Guil. Stang, D.D.
net, I 00
History of the Catholic Church. Brueck. 2 vols, net, 3 00
History of the Catholic Church. Shea. net, i 50
History of the Protestant Reformation in England and
Ireland. Cobbett. Cloth, net, 0 75
Letters of St. Alphonsus Liguori. Grimm, C.SS.R. 5 vols..
Each, net, 1 50
Life and Life-Work of Mother Theodore Guerin, Foundress
of the Sisters of Providence at St.-Mary-of-the-Woods, Vigo
County, Indiana. net, 2 00
Life of Blessed Virgin. Illustrated. Cochem. net, i 25
Life of Ven. Mary Crescentia Hoess. Degman, O.S.F.
net, I 25
Life of Saint Vincent de Paul. Maloy, CM.
Paper, o 25
Cloth, o 35
Life of Christ. Illustrated. Cochem. net, i 25
Life of Fr. Francis Poilvache, C.SS.R. Paper, net, o 20
Life of Most Rev. John Hughes. Brann. net, 0 75
Life of Sister Anne Katherine Emmerich, of the Order of St.
Augustine. Wegener, O.S.A. net, 1 75
Life of St, Anthony. Ward. Illustrated. net, o 75
Life of St. Catharine of Sienna, Ayme, M.D. i 00
Little Lives of Saints for Children. Illustrated. Cloth,
o 60
Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints. net, i 25
LouRDES — ^ Its Inhabitants, Its Pilgrims, and Its Miracles.
Clarke, S.J. net, i 00
Middle Ages, The. Rev. Thos. J. Shahan, S.I.D.J.U.L. 2 00
II
Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano. net, e 75
Outlines of Jewish ?1istory. Gigot, S.S. n«t, i 59
Outlines of New Testament History. Gigot, S.S. net, i 50
Patron Saints for Catholic Youth. Illustrated. 0 60
Pictorial Lives of the Saints. Cloth, net, 2 00
Reminiscences of Rt. Rev. E. P. Wadhams. net, i 00
Sheaf of Golden Years, A. Mary Constance Smith, net, i o©
net, I 00
Sheaf of Golden Years, A, Smith. net, 1 00
St. Anthony, The Saint of the Whole World. net, 0 75
Story of Jesus. Illustrated. 0 60
Story of the Divine Child. Lings. o 60
Victories of the Martyrs. Liguori. net, 1 50
Visit to Europe and the Holy Land. Fairbanks. i 50
THEOLOGY, LITURGY, SERMONS, SCIENCE, AND
PHILOSOPHY.
Abridged Sermons, for All Sundays of the Year. Liguori.
Grimm, C.SS.R. net, 1 50
Across Widest America. Rev. A. J. Devinie, S.J. 1 50
Benziger's Magazine. per year, 2 00
Blessed Sacrament, Sermons on the. Edited by Lasance.
net, I 50
Breve Compendium Theologiae Dogmaticae et Moralis.
Berthier. net, 2 50
Cantata Catholica. B. H. F. Hellebusch. net, 2 oo
Ceremonial for Altar Boys. Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B.
net, 0 35
Children of Mary, Sermons for the. Callerio. net, i 50
Children's Masses, Sermons for. Frassinetti-Lings.
net, I 50
Christian Apologetics. Devivier, S.J. net, 2 00
Christian Philosophy: God. Driscoll. net, i sO'
Christ in Type and Prophecy. Maas, S.J. 2 vols., net, 4 00
Church Treasurer's Pew-Collection and Receipt Book.
net, I oo
Compendium Juris Canonici. Smith. net, 2 00
Compendium Juris Regularium. Edidit P. Aug. Bachofen,
7iet, 2 so
Compendium Sacrae Liturgiae Juxta Ritum Romanum,
Wapelhorst. Editio sexta emendatior. net, 2 50
Compendium Theologiae Dogmaticae et Moralis. Berthier.
net, 2 50
Confessional, The. Right Rev. A. Roeggl, D.D. net, i 00
Data of Modern Ethics Examined. Rev. John J. Mina, S. J.
2 00
De Philosophia Morali Praelectxones. Russo. net, 2 00
Diary, Order and Note-Book.
Cloth, net, o 75
Flexible Leather, net, x 25
Ecclesiastical Dictionary. Rev. John Thein. net, 5 00
Elements of Ecclesiastical Law. Rev. S. B. Smith, D.D.
Ecclesiastical Persons. net, a 50
Ecclesiastical Punishments. net, 2 50
Ecclesiastical Trials. net, 2 50
12
Elocution Class. Eleanor O'Grady, n##, • 5«
Encyclical Letters of Pops Leo XIII. nt$, a 25
Funeral Sermons. Rev. Aug. Wirth, O.S.B. 2 yoIs., net, 2 00
General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scriptures.
Gigot, S.S. Cloth, net, 2 50
General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scriptures.
Abridged Edition. Rev. Francis E. Gigot, S.S. net, i 50
God Knowable and Known. Ronayne, S.T. net, i 50
Good Christian, The. Allen, D.D. 2 vols., net, 5 00
History ok the Mass. O'Brien. net, 1 25
Hunolt's Sermons. 12 vols., net, 25 00
Hunolt's Short Sermons. 5 vols., net, 10 00
Hymn. Book of Sunday School Companion. o 35
Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures. Gigot.
net, I 50
Introduction to the Study of the Old Testament. Vols. I-
and II. Gigot. net, i 50
Jesus Living in the Priest. Millet-Byrne. net, 2 00
Last Things, Sermons on the Four. Hunolt. 2 vols.
net, 5 00
Lenten Sermons. Edited by Wirth, O.S.B. net, 2 00
Liber Status Animarum. Pocket Edition, net, 0,25; half
leather, net, 2 00
Marriage Process in the United States. Smith. net, 2 59
Moral Principles and Medical Practice, the Basis of Medical
Jurisprudence. Coppens, S.J. net, i oa
Medulla Fundamentalis Theologiae Moralis. Auctore Gu-
lielmo Stang. net, i oa
Mores Catholici or Ages of Faith. By Digby. 4 vols. 25 00
Natural Law and Legal Practice. Holaind, S.J. net, 2 00
New and Old Sermons. Wirth, O.S.B. 8 vols., net. 16 so
Outlines of Dogmatic Theology. Hunter, S. J. 3 vols.,
net, 4 so
Outlines of Jewish History. Gigot, S.S. net, 150
Outlines of New Testament History. Gigot. Cloth,
net, I 50
Outlines of Sermons for Young Men and Young Women,
net, 2 «0
Pastoral Theology. Stang, D.D. net, i 50
Penance, Sermons on. Hunolt. 2 vols., net, 5 00
Penitent Christian, The. Sermons. Hunolt. 2 vols.,
net, 5 00
Pew-Rent Receipt Book. net, i 00
PmiosoPHiA de Mqrali. Russo. net, 2 00
Political and Moral Essays. Rickaby, S.J. net, i 50
Praxis Synodalis. Manuale Synodi Diocesanae ac Provincialis
Celebrandae. net, o 75
Priest in the Pulpit, The. Suelbemann. net, i 50
Readings and Recitations for Juniors. O'Grady. net, 0 50
Record of Baptisms. 14x10 Inches, 3 Styles.
Record of Marriages. 14x10 Inches, 3 Styles.
Registrum Baptismorum. net, 3 50
Registrum Matrimoniorum. net, 3 50
Relation of Experimental Psychology to Philosophy. Mgr.
Mercier. net, o 35
Rights of Our Little Ones. Conway, S.J. o.i©; per 100,
7 50
13
RiTUALE CoMPENDiosuM scu Ordo Admitiistrandi quaedam Sacra-
menta et alia Officia Ecclesiastica Rite Peragendi ex Rituali
Romano, novissime editio desumptas. net, o 90
Sanctuary Boys' Illustrated Manual. McCallen, net, o 50
Select Recitations for Catholic Schools and Academies.
Eleanor O'Grady. . i 00
Sermons, Abridged, for Sundays. Liguori. net, i 25
Sermons for Children of Mary, Callerio. net, 1 50
Sermons for Children's Masses. Frassinetti-Lings. net, i 50
Sermons for the Sundays and Chief Festivals of the Eccle-
siastical Year. Pottgeisser, SJ. 2 vols. net, 2 50
Sermons from the Latins. Baxter. net, 2 00
Sermons, Funeral. Wirth. 2 vols. net, 2 00
Sermons, Hunolt's. 12 vols. net, 25 00
Sermons, Hunolt's Short. 5 vols. net, 10 00
Sermons, Lenten. Wirth. net, 2 00
Sermons, New and Old. Wirth. 8 vols, net, 16 00
Sermons on Devotion to Sacred Heart. Bierbaum.
net, 0 75
Sermons on Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin and the Saints.
Hunolt. 2 vols. 5 00
Sermons on the Blessed Sacrament. Scheurer-Lasance.
net, I 50
Sermons on the Rosary. Frings. net. i 00
Sermons on the Seven Deadly Sins. 2 vols. net, 5 00
Sermons on Penance. Hunolt. 2 vols. 5 00
Sermons on the Christian Virtues. Hunolt. 2 vols. 5 00
Sermons on the Different States of Life. Hunolt. 2 vols.
S 00
Sermons on the Four Last Things. Hunolt. 2 vols. 5 00
Short Sermons. Hunolt. 5 vols. 10 00
Socialism: Its Theoretical Basis and Practical Application.
Victor Cathrein, S.J. i 50
Sursum Corda. Hymns. Cloth, 0.25; per 100, 15 00
SuRSUM Corda, With English and German Text. 0 45
Theory and Practice of the Confessional. Dr. E. Shieler,
Professor IMoral Theology. 3 50
Synopsis Theologiae Dogmaticae. Tanquerey. S.S. 3 vols.
net, 5 25
Synopsis Theologia Moralis et Pastoralis. Tanquerey.
3 vols. net, 5 25
Theologia Dogmatica Specialis. Tanquerey. 2 vols.
net, 3 50
Views of Dante. By E. L. Rivard, C.S. V. net, 1 25
Vade Mecum Sacerdotum. Cloth, net, o 25
Morocco, net, o 50
What Catholics Have Done for Science. M. S. Brennan.
netj I 00
MISCELLANEOUS.
A Gentleman. M'. F. Egan, LL.D. net, o 75
A Lady. Manners and Social Usages. Lelia Hardin Bugg.
net, o 75
Bone Rules; or. Skeleton of English Grammar. Tabb, A.M.
Catholic Home Annual. Stories by Best Writers. o 25
Correct Thing for Catholics, The. Lelia Hardin Bugg.
net, 0 75
14
Guide for Sacristans. net, o 85
How TO Get On. Rev. Bernard Feeney. net, i 00
Little Folks' Annual, o.io; per 100, 6 00
PRAYER-BOOKS.
Benziger Brothers publish the most complete line of prayer-
books in this country. Catalogue will be sent free on ap-
plication.
SCHOOL BOOKS.
Benziger Brothers' school text-books are considered to be
the finest published. They embrace: New Century Cath-
olic Readers. Illustrations in Colors. Catholic National
Readers. Catechisms. History. Grammars. Spellers.
Elocution. Charts.
s/lc
A Home Library for $i Down.
Original American Stories for the Young, by the Very Best
Catholic Authors.
20
COPYRIGHTED BOOKS and a year's subscription to
benziger's magazine (in itself a library of good reading).
Regular Price of Books, . . . $11.70 ? Regular Price,
Regular price of Benziger's Magazine, 2.00 ) $13.70.
Special Net Price, $10.00. $1.00 Down. $1.00 a Month.
You get the books at once, and have the use of them, while mak-
ing easy payments. Send us only $1.00, and we will forward
the books at once. $1.00 entitles you to immediate possession.
No further payment need be made for a month. Afterward
you pay $1.00 a month.
ANOTHER EASY WAY OF GETTING BOOKS.
Each year we publish four new Novels by the best Catholic
authors. These novels are interesting beyond the ordinary; not
religious, but Catholic in tone and feeling.
We ask you to give us a Standing Order for these novels.
The price is $1.25 a volume postpaid. Ihe $5.00 is not to be
paid at one time, but $1.25 each time a volume is published.
As a Special Inducement for giving us a standing order for
these novels, we will give you free a subscription to Benziger's
Magazine. This Magazine is recognized as the best and hand-
somest Catholic magazine published. The regular price of the
Magazine is $2.00 a year.
Thus for $5.00 a year — paid $1.25 at a time — you will get
four good books and receive in addition free a year's subscrip-
tion to Benziger's Magazine. The Magazine will be continued
from to year to year, as long as the standing order for the
novels is in force, which will be till countermanded.
Send $1.25 for the first novel and get your name placed on
the subscription list of Benizger's Magazine.
BENZIGER BROTHERS,
Niw York: Cincinnati: Chicago:
86 and S8 Barclay 343 Main Street. 211 and 213 Madison
Strest. Street.
4"^^
9^^
•\
\ ■}
^0'
^. ' '^'^ J" S-, % '' ^' .> ^^
^ r)v s^ '// c- V ^^
-^A
■^
X*
^P .<\^
^' ,^
> A.
-p.,
ci-
\ -^
,^^^
.0"^ c " - '■■ "
<'
"^A v^
Oo,
;:)
o 0
,> -n..
V^'
^ //
■^; ^
■^.^ ^ v^
'ci-.
.\Q ^^.
fl 1 \
.0^ ^
^V
.\v
^.
4^'
■ev „
-^
<^0
,\
0'
A.
o>'
c*-^ *-
0' ■< ' o c>
•\
^^,
o
•A o ^
V-*^ ^ ft <: ■^ .\
^ ^^.
-s
.'\
i^-
O" c 0 ^ '■
^. -^^
.#^
%^ ^ >r ^/
0 ^ A^'
^■^
*i.
.#^ .^•
O.
■^
> V^^
cP^
0 ^« 0
« -^^
.0 0.
,0-
• A * •> N o ' ^^
-^^ '
A^
Ci\
C^^\
■ o
^
A'
^ .d-^
.o'^.
'Mm A
<::;;■
. ■.. . .■.'',', »'^