Life — July 17, 1913 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

120 LLP E* Synthetic Republic Launched Mrs. Pankhurst and Followers Firmly and Permanently Established on the Island of Eugenia—Only Ideal Govern- ment Known to World—Interview Under Some Difficulty (Special Correspondence to Life) Eucenta, July 15. LL of the male correspondents have been excluded from the island. I am the only one left and I leave here to-morrow morning for- ever. For twenty-four hours I was tied up in a small boat off the end of the island and had to interview the President and the members of the cabinet by megaphone, but upon learn- ing what the effect upon the world at jarge would be, Mrs. Pankhurst finally consented to permit me to land for an hour or so. Everything is running smoothly. While I was talking to the President the conversation was interrupted by the reverberations of bombs in the southern end of the island. “What's that?” I exclaimed invol- untarily. Mrs. Pankhurst smiled. “ That is a little idea of my own,” she said, “and it is necessary for the evolution of the synthetic woman.” “What is the synthetic woman?” “The higher order of feminine being developed naturally from the suffra- gette.” “And those bombs? “Don't you see that before woman can be evolved properly it is necessary for her to give vent to her emotions? Now we women have been in the habit of destroying property and I have therefore introduced this little idea into the island. Half of us spend our time in putting up a building and the next day the other half blow it up with those bombs and eternal verity is thus preserved.” “How long do you expect to have to keep this up?” “Until we reach the higher govern- mental calm.” Miss Inez Milholland arrived this morning from America. It is under- stood that she will have the portfolio of state. In the meantime an army of pirates, composed of Mongolians, Caucasians, Indo-Europeans and a few Anglo-Saxons attacked the island with a ficet of warships, They were re- pulsed with a great loss. Mrs. Pank- hurst in speaking of this said: “In order to reach our higher des- tiny it is necessary for us to establish the fundamental proposition that ‘the female of the species is more deadly than the male.’ I guess no other col- lection of mere men will disturb us again.” “Please tell Lire, Mrs. Pankhurst, something of the form of your re- public.” “It will be an ideal society, there being no men present to disturb us. The program is about as follows: The morning hours will be devoted to hys- terics. Up to the present time hys- terics have not received their just due, having been held in contempt by most men. By exploiting hysterics in the form which 1 have suggested, by bomb-throwing and the use of other explosives, we expect to recreate the fundamental nature of women. The afternoon will be devoted to rest and speech-making and various proc- esses of government.” “How about your domestic prob- lems?” “There are none. Each member of this society provides for her own needs.” At this moment the gong sounded which was the signal for my leaving the island forever. “Remember,” said Mrs. Pankhurst, “this is the last communication which will be made with the outside world.” “But how will the world know,” I declared, “just how the experiment is going to succeed and whether your government will really be an ideal society for all men to keep and for all nations to rejoice in?” Mrs, Pankhurst smiled, shaking hands cordially as we stepped into the boat. “That is easy,” she said. “We have, of course, a few immediate prob- lems to solve; but just wait!” “Wait for what?” “For Posterity. Posterity will prove us to be right.” “But Mrs. Pankhurst—without--? “Certainly. Posterity will be evotved from the higher Synthesis. Fare- well!” “HELLO! IS THAT INFORMATION? WELL, SAY! MY WIFE'S AWAY, AND THE COOK HAS JUST LEFT. WOULD YOU BE KIND ENOUGH TO TELL MY HOW LONG I SHOULD BOIL THE COFFEE?” wh comicbooks.com