Life — December 15, 1910 — page 28: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

1116 Priscilla Still on Her Mettle HE name of Henrietta Williams should be writ in letters of gold. She is one of our dear English sisters and is certainly a truc heroine. Read what she did: One contingent from the Caxton Hall mecting ran across Mr. Asquith as he was crossing Parliament Square on his way to the Government offices on Downing Street Crowds of excited women quickly sur- rounded the Premier, and one of them, named Henrietta Williams, ran forward and struck him. Although he is Prime Minister of Eng- land, Mr. Asquith is also a member of the brute and tyrant sex. There is no estimating the extent of danger to which Henrietta Williams exposed herself. She doubtless took Mr. Asquith by surprise and he might have turned on her and struck her a blow with his fist which would have blackened her eye or he might have drawn a revolver and shot her dead. Henrietta Williams is indeed a splendid specimen of our sex and an ideal Suffragette. The men magistrates on the British bench no longer dis- charge or fine our dear sisters when they are arrested for destroying property and committing assaults on public and private persons. The brutes send the dear girls to prison. They insist on treating them not as heroic martyrs to a sacred cause, but as mere vulgar brawlers and disturbers of the peace, The magistrates ought to be ashamed of themselves to treat members of our finer sex as though they were mere men, There is a pathetic note in this recent utterance of the Rev. Anna Shaw. It was in connection with an appeal from the leaders of our English sisters to send them some American dollars. She said: “I should hardly feel justified in con- tributing to a fund for helping suffragists across the water when our own national association is several thousand dollars in debt.” She is entirely right. There is already dissatisfaction in our ranks because, although every one has to subscribe, only our peerless leaders get their names in the papers. That is all right for them, but it is not exactly fair to the Suffragettes who put up the bulk of the money and get no notoriety from it. The English leaders ought to get the money to pay for their notoriety from their own Suffragettes. Good news, sisters! Twenty years ago Professor Sargent, of Harvard, made a statue of a woman based on the average measurements of more than ten thousand of our sex. From similar measurements taken recently he finds that in physique we are getting to be more like men. Our feet, waists and necks are all growing larger. He has discovered no appre- ciable difference in the length of woman's tongue. Several hundred persons assembled at the Metropolitan Temple the other night to listen to arguments against woman suffrage, but were disappointed. Ten minutes after the time scheduled for the opening of the meeting not one of those opposed to votes for women had appeared. Contemptible creatures! Sooner than take the trouble to come out in public and make speeches they were probably at ‘LIPE* First Personall: Conducted Party: wat city 1s Tus? “WHAT DAY IS IT-—WEDNESDAY 0x THURSDAY?" “ WEDNESDAY.” “THEN IT MUST FLORENCE." home keeping house, taking care of their children, or doing some other humiliating thing showing their slavery to tyrant man, The writer of this letter doesn’t wish her name used. She hasn't much intellectuality, but she is a pretty girl, wears stylish hats and gowns, and is very good bait to attract atten- tion at our street-corner meeting: Dear Miss Priscitta:—A man friend of mine says that if I will name a single one of our leaders who is a good wife, a good mother, or even a good housckecper, he will become a ‘convert to our sacred cause. When I mentioned Mrs. Belmont and two or three others he only laughed. When I asked him why, he wouldn't tell me and only kept on laugh- ing. Won't you tell me some one of the leaders who answers his description so I can win him over? Yours affectionately and for the cause, F. Perfect rubbish, my dear. The ladies who lead us are well known, and thanks to their keeping their names in the papers are becoming better advertised every day. What dif- ference does it make what they are as wives, mothers and housekeepers? Does anybody ask men candidates for Con- gress whether they can cook, bake or sew? No, indeed! It is enough if they have what is called the gif, of gab, and you can tell your young man that every one of our leaders has that. Priscitta Jawnones. comicbooks.com