USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > The Congress of Women : held in the Woman's building, World's Columbian exposition, Chicago, U.S.A., 1893 : with portraits, biographies and addresses > Part 16
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The other is a noble blank verse rendition by Tennyson of one of the loveliest passages in the Iliad:
"So Hector spake; the Trojans roared applause; Then loosed their sweating horses from the yoke, And each beside his chariot bound his own; And oxen from the city, and goodly sheep In haste they drove, and honey-hearted wine And bread from out the houses brought, and heap'd Their firewood, and the winds from off the plain Roll'd the rich vapor far into the heaven.
And these all night upon the bridge of war Sat glorying; many a fire before them blazed;
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As when in heaven the stars about the moon Look beautiful, when all the winds are laid, And every height comes out, and jutting peak And valley, and the immeasurable heavens Break open to their highest, and all the stars Shine, and the Shepherd gladdens in his heart; So many a fire between the ships and stream Of Xanthus blazed before the towers of Troy, A thousand on the plain; and close by cach Sat fifty in the blaze of burning fire;
And cating hoary grain and pulse, the steeds Fixt by their cars, waited the golden dawn."
DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN WASHINGTON .*
By MRS. JENNIE F. WHITE.
The theme assigned me for this address is "Art and Educational Facilities for the Women of Eastern Washington." These are both influenced much by the surround- ings and conditions of life. What a country for artis our loved Washington! Here are the well-known Palouse or Yakima valleys, responding to the invita- tion of man with fruit-burdened tree, rich green grass and waving golden grain, bursting forth so wonder- fully prolific as to astonish their owners, and in many places retaining a moisture beneath the surface which sustains them in the greatest degree of abundance in fruitage and harvest, even though for months not a drop of rain falls.
Where still uncultivated the prairies are dotted with flowers of every hue, which succeed each other in order, spreading a perfect carpet of golden butter- cups first in the springtime, followed by purple, pink, scarlet or blue, each in its season .predominating, though hundreds of varieties can often be found in a day's collecting.
Through these valleys wander ever beautiful riv- ers, carrying the bright sparkling waters from the mountain rills and snows. Gradually rise the foot MRS. JENNIE F. WHITE. hills, or suddenly the rocky bluffs, while far away and above tower the ever snow-capped mountain peaks, and when one of our glorious sunsets floods all in golden glory; when clear across the sky flames the crimson, gold and amber, touching the edge of every cloud into a radiant, dazzling brilliancy, while every shade from these to deepest purple may be traced, so softly blended; then these snowy peaks are capped with living, blazing gold, as if the dear old mountains sought to express to man their knowledge of the pure gold and silver hidden below.
Dead indeed would be the soul not stirred as by a master's power; poor indeed the talent not inspired by such scenes, ever changing, yet always grand, bold, sublime.
Washington has been ever courteous to her daughters in many ways. There are no schools from which they are excluded within her boundaries, and there was a time when they voted in all elections, united with their brothers in the work of caucus and committee, sat on juries and served in positions of trust not usually open to women; yet we believe our women are as gentle and womanly, as good and true as any in the whole wide world, and we try very hard indeed not to ape airs masculine. Today we vote at school elections and serve on school boards; but the greater
Mrs. Jennie F. Drake White was born in Maine. Her parents were Joseph T. Drake and Betsy Longfellow Chapman Drake (a relative of the poet Longfellow). She was educated in the seminary now known as Ricker Classical Institute, Houlton, Me. She has traveled extensively in America and Eastern Canada. She married Robinson G. White in 1879, and is the mother of one son. Her principal literary works are numerous poems, essays, addresses and sermons. Her profession is that of a journalist, at present a member of the editorial staff of the Spokane Daily and Weekly Chronicle. In religious faith she is a Universalist, and occasionally supplies the pulpit of that church, though she is not a minister. Mrs. White is still young, being little more than thirty years of age, and is now at work on a novel bearing on social conditions, which critics declare will win notice, being quite unusual in lines of thought. Her postoffice address is Chronicle office, Spo- kane, Wash.
*The title of the address as read was: "Art and Educational Facilities for the Women of Eastern Washington."
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privileges or responsibilities have been removed from our hands. Many hesitate about coming to the great Northwest with their families, fearing the loss of educa- tional advantages in our savage wilds. They are greatly surprised when they arrive.
No state in America has more beautiful, commodious and improved school build- ings than we have in the new State of Washington, or better conducted schools within them. A hamlet is started on some quiet hillside near a running stream, a few cots, a mill, a store, a schoolhouse, and, later, when the children are provided for, a church, and in a year quite a little village, with electric lights, water plant and other modern necessities, has appeared as if by magic.
The High School of Spokane is a beautiful brick structure, with neat play- grounds and green sloping yards. A photograph of it may be seen in the Washing- ton school exhibit, as well as an excellent model carved in wood by the pupils. In every part of the city stand similar buildings, though not so commodious, and other cities of our state arc equally well provided. We have agricultural colleges, business colleges, church colleges, and in all of them excellent teachers in every department.
In giving you a brief sketch of the departments of art and educational work in which Washington women are interested, I will present my own city of Spokane as the type, and you will please remember that we have many other cities which to a greater or less degree are repetitions of what is really the leading city of Eastern Washington, though not the oldest.
That art is highest which is most free from things material, hence the goddess of music leads them all. And we are great music lovers in the Northwest. At the con- cert given as a test of the ability of six young ladies to represent us as state singers from Washington at this great fair, in this yet greater Chicago, our large opera house was packed to the doors and hundreds were unable to enter.
The young ladies rendered classical selections in a manner to win storms of applause. Numerous floral tributes crossed the footlights, and when Miss Berry of Walla Walla sang, a shower of roses and lilies fell around her from boxes and balcony. The state has a host of charming singers, and Palouse City is the happy possessor of a ladies' brass band, which is the pride of Eastern Washington. They play with much skill and accuracy many difficult selections, and are highly applauded in every locality. Their uniforms are neat and becoming, and they are cultivated ladies, every one of them.
· Our Conservatory of Music is conducted entirely by women, with the best teachers obtainable in vocal and instrumental music, physical culture and voice training.
We have a Mozart Club, which employs a professor of high musical ability as instructor, and which presents the compositions of the old masters in a manner to win applause from a critical audience, and which for variety occasionally favors the pub- lic with light opera.
We have a school of oratory, also classes in elocution and movements, excellently managed by women. Spokane is also very proud of its Young Ladies' Seminary, where all departments of modern education are taught, with teachers who have had the advantage of foreign travel and years of study in Germany in painting and music.
The citizens of Washington are fortunate in all lines of education, and the ad- vantages offered their children, and especially so in the knowledge that their daugh- ters can have such care and instruction at home. If the work continues as it is now so well begun, St. Mary's will ere long rival the famous schools of the East, to which our daughters have been accustomed to go for finished education.
Several art studios are owned by women who teach in every department of draw- ing and painting. An art league is in active work, with excellent teachers in land- scape painting, china decoration, wood carving, molding and art needlework. Lessons are given by the League, which numbers more ladies than gentlemen by far, at low prices, to those who desire to learn and who cannot afford private lessons.
The paintings in the Washington State buildings are largely the work of her daughters, as are the collection of three hundred varieties of wild flowers done in water colors, and well worth the time of looking over.
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A kindergarten is also sustained in each of these schools, and private kindergar- tens in different parts of the state are preparing the little ones for the next step in life's advancement, aiding as well in building up healthy, robust bodies for the spirit's dwelling-place. Each of these is duplicated again and again. Walla Walla, having the best of educational privileges; Yakima being ornamented by school build- ings which are a credit to the enterprise of her citizens. Ellensburgh has, in connec- tion with the other departments of knowledge, which are her pride, our State Normal School, Pullman our Agricultural College, and all the lesser towns and cities their fair proportion of honors educational.
In women's clubs Spokane has the Cultus Club, with membership limited to twenty- five, holding weekly parlor meetings devoted to the study of literature, music, art, science and theology, giving entertainments frequently and having as its aim mutual improvement and social enjoyment. The Spokane Indians use the word "Cultus," meaning " no good," or " know nothing." The Spokane Sorosis, named for the New York Club so well known to you all, contains a larger membership studies parliament- ary usages, the constitution and national laws, and includes literature, history, art, science and questions of the day in its discussions.
The Daughters of Rebekah and the Eastern Star Lodge are large, well organized societies, while Daughters of Veterans, young ladies' institutes and similar societies add much to social pleasures, and the aid ever derived from intelligent conversation, well written papers and discussion, such as are of frequent occurrence at regular and special meetings prevailing under the direction of each of these.
In literature we have many prolific writers of prose and poetry, whose bright original style in both lines of literature promises to bring them recognition even beyond the confines of the West. Several woman journalists are connected with the editorial staffs of our daily papers, and contribute also to journals and magazines of the East, where their writings are gladly made use of. That we have no great writers, as yet is to be accounted for by the fact that we are too young; but, where every- thing else is so great, even our trees, our rivers and our vegetables, surely our writers, when fully developed, will measure up to the average. Allow me to close with a poem rendered by the poet of our Washington Press Association, who is a woman:
" Dear is this West to us; Dear as a cause becomes to men who fight With odds against them for a righteous end,
'Till, from the blood they shed, springs greater love.
We each to the upbuilding of this land Have freely given our manhood's fullest strength,
The strenuous push of youth's hot energy, And ripened judgment of our later days.
At first, we came planning our own success;
Thought but to build that we might enter in; Possess the land. But zeal, lit at this brand, In all our hearts mounts to a higher flame. Which of us all would now betray his place? Or which be recreant to his chosen trust? We who preach hope when our own hearts despair, And hold them firm, though coward prudence Whispers our defeat, are pledged to courage. We bear the colors and they hold us true. From our high hopes failure has gleaned new pain Since we have hoped for more than selfish gain. And yet this land for which we toil and pain Is not our home. To every one of us Home is some other place, and at the word Springs a swift vision, to each different,
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Yet all seen through the golden haze of time, That mists our eyes with tender memories. To me a village street-above the road The May flushed mapies meet in Spring's caress. To you a low gray farmhouse, at whose door A dear old face smiles at you through its tears; For cach of us that dear, familiar face,
We dare not think if we may see again.
Home is with them, and we are exiles here,
To build for others who come after us;
To whom this fruitful land shall be sweet home;
That is our part, and no ignoble one.
Then let us build, that, in the coming years,
When youth, untempted, strong in self-belief,
Puts our life-work to its untarnished test, We may stand up and dare to meet
The searching inquest of those clear young eyes.
THE WOMEN OF BOHEMIA. By MRS. JOSEFA HUMPAL ZEMAN.
You have heard how in the beautiful forests of Bohemia there blossom millions of sweet scented violets, modestly hiding their drooping heads beneath the velvet moss; they live their short life quietly, yet steadily, per- forming the duty assigned to them by their Creator; they live and breathe the sweet breath that fills the air, invigorating the wearied passer-by with new strength for his daily toil; intoxicating the nightin- gales, who, bursting in songs of joy, soothe and inspire souls, who, like Keats, need new vigor to enliven their fainting hearts. And like these violets that blossom in the bosom of our forests, so the women of Bohe- mia live quietly, hidden within the sacred walls of their homes, unostentatiously performing their duties; and yet their influence has filled the air with the sweet scent of encouragement, and inspired our men to deeds of heroism. Our women always have lived closer to the men than the women of the western na- tions. They have been their true helpmates in home and national life, and not unfrequently have their words, their faith, their example, poured fresh vigor into the fainting hearts of the worn-out warriors. As far back as legend and history can reach we find our women participating in national welfare. The third MRS. JOSEFA HUMPAL ZEMAN. ruler of the Czechs was a woman, Libuse, and it is said that under her rule the nation prospered, and today she lives as an embodiment of all that is desirable in a good king; as noble, just, kind and wise queen ! Later, Drahomira was another brave queen, and among the first Christian women. St. Lud- mila is a good illustration of the interest that women have shown in public life as far back as the eighth and tenth centuries, A. D.
In the times of the great tribulations that came to Bohemia during the Hussite wars, when whole armies of Catholic soldiers swept into the quiet regions of Bohemia, tearing away from the hearts of the people that which was most sacred to them-their religion and their mother tongue-it was then that our women showed their heroic nature, sending their husbands away to war, and they themselves marching with them. They carried stores, nursed the wounded, and frequently stepped into the place of their husbands and sons when the cruel shot swept these out of their places. Thou- sands of women left their homes, their friends, and went into exile, when, after the fall of Bohemia on the White Mountain, in 1620, after the long Thirty Years' War, Rome and the Hapsburgs were victorious; and all those Bohemians who would not become
Mrs. Josefa Humpal Zeman is a native of Bohemia. She was born January 9, 1870. Her father was a prominent Bohemian leader and speaker, who came to this country in 1873. She was educated in the public schools of Chicago, and later spent two years in studying at the High School of Pisek, Bohemia, where her parents returned, and since 1890 has been studying at the Woman's College, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She has traveled extensively in Austria, Germany, England and America. She married a Bohemian editor, Robert Zeman, in 1887. Her special work has been in the interest of the women of her own nationality, philanthrophic and educational. All her literary works have been published in the various Bohemian journals. She is a Christian and a member of the Presbyterian Church. She is a regular contributor to all the leading Bohemian journals. As a lecturer she is intelligent, sparkling and attractive, and the only Bohemian woman speaker in America. Her postoffice address is No. 513 Arcade, Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.
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Roman Catholics were exiled, their property confiscated and given to foreigners, who filled the land like ravens, preying upon helpless, suffering Bohemia. In the Middle Ages our women were queens of the castle, and often were very learned. Many wrote in Latin, Greek, and some even knew the Hebrew. We have traces of literary efforts done by these women as early as 1502, and all through the so-called "Golden Age" of Bohemian literature in the sixteenth century. The "old embroideries" prove the high artitsic talents of women, for the designs are all made by women copying the creations of nature in their beautiful embroidering. The blending of colors and choosing of design, all testify to a great development of æsthetic tastes and love of nature "for its own sake." It is, however, this century that best unveils to us the hearts of our women. Standing by the side of our poets, they went from village to village, from house to house, awakening the people to new life and new courage, carry- ing with them literature, and teaching the peasants how to read and write. This is the time that Mme. Bozena Nemcora formed her little salon, and, like Madame De Staël, gathered about her the best sons of Bohemia, inspiring, helping and teaching them. She was the "good star" of the brave men who tried to resurrect the nation from a death of more than two centuries.
During those days of tumult and strife, when the Bohemian language was almost forgotten, when it was a shame to be a Bohemian in his own fatherland, when there was no literature left-for the Roman clergy had burned all that came within its grasp, because the best class of literature was written by the "Bohemian Brethren," a Prot- estant sect -- it took more than courage to stand up as a patriot, and Madame Nemcora, braved the storms. She is the first one who cultivated novel writing, and her "Babicka" or "Grandmother" has been translated into German, Russian, Polish, French, and by Frances Gregor into English (published by McClurg, Chicago). It is a classic in the language. Her literary productions would fill a small library. She is to Bohemian, what George Sand is to French, and George Eliot is to English. Around her, during the first half of this century, in the time of revolutions and upheavals in society, gathered nearly thirty women, who began to cultivate " Belles-lettres" and help in the patriotic efforts of the men. Up to this time the girl's sphere was limited. She had been brought up like the girls of other nations, to regard household duties as her proper sphere. The Bohemian housekeeper was well known, the Bohemian cook was famous, and so each young woman was carefully trained in these arts. Fancy work, fine embroidery, a little music, French and German were about all the arts which were opened to the girls. The women of lowest class, the "laboring" women, were, how- ever, allowed "equal rights" with the men, and could work in fields, in winter spin, and in the cities these women often worked with the masons, carrying brick and mortar and doing such rude work. The life of the "laboring class" of women is a hard one indeed; but they don't complain, they remain loyal to theirhomes, and often from these lowly homes come the greatest men, and many of these men have thanked their mothers for their success in life.
The " Middle Class " consists of the families of the professional men, merchants, officials, and such as have income enough to keep their families in comfort. In this class the women, as a rule, do not help the men to earn the living. The daughters in these families, in addition to the elementary education received in the public schools, receive a supplementary one, which is to put a sort of varnish over the other. They are taught a little German, French, music, a little painting and a good deal of fancy work. But all this is done, not with the view to enabling them to earn their own living, but rather of giving them some accomplishments to help them to win a husband. These women expect to be supported by some man, since there is no way open to them by which they may earn their living. The "Nobility " of course, live like the same class everywhere else: besides, we have, with very few exceptions, no nobility that is really Bohemian. Since 1870 the condition of our women has changed, and there are now certain professions opened to them. These are the teachings ( there are twelve hundred teachers in Bohemia now), nursing, type-writing, telegraphing, clerking and
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some trades. There are only two physicians, and these studied in Zurich, and are not allowed to practice in Bohemia, although the government has acknowledged their ability by appointing them to be regular staff physicians in Bohemia among the Mohammedan women.
These openings for self-support to young women have been made by the organ- ization of "The Bohemian Women Commercial and Industrial Society," organized by our great novelist, Mme. Karolina Svetla, in 1870. This organization has a school in Prague, where the girls are taught, in addition to various branches of higher studies, all kinds of handiwork, mainly dressmaking, millinery, bookkeeping, type-writing, cutting and various fancy works. The school can only accommodate about five hundred students, and hundreds of promising girls must be turned away because the society has not funds enough to enlarge its school. A similar school is also sustained at Brünn by the women of Moravia. The school is something like Drexel Institute in Philadel- phia. This society has also founded the first and best Bohemian " Woman's Journal," whose editor is the famous poetess, Eliska Krasnohorska, the founder of " Minerva," a society composed of the best men and women in Bohemia, under whose auspices a Gymnasium for girls was established in 1890. The Gymnasium is the first school of its kind in Eastern Europe, and has now been copied by the German and Austrian women. The students are to be prepared for admission to the University. The funds for sup- porting the school are raised by Madame Krasnohorska, the indefatigable author and worker in the cause of women. The school now numbers more than eighty students. It is a task of great importance and very difficult, since, with the exception of the University of Zurich, no university in Northern Europe opens its doors to women. There are not less than one hundred and eighty societies of women in Bohemia, and yet out of all there is none that we might call a " suffrage club," although the Society of Bohemian Teachers in Prague has given considerable attention to this subject, hav- ing arranged for lectures, and many of its members write articles upon the theme. Bohemia, like all of Austria, has not universal suffrage, and only those who have prop- erty can vote. In many towns and cities the women vote also; in others they are represented indirectly. In some towns they may even vote for the delegates to the state Diet; but not for those of the Reichsrath. Although in some cases they may vote, they themselves are ineligible to office. Some towns have a committee of women appointed to oversee the work in the primary and industrial schools for girls.
As I have said before, since the " Mediaval Era" of the Bohemian literature, women appear in the ranks of authors, and today some of the most popular authors of drama, poetry and novels are women. The Bohemian women exhibited and donated to the Woman's Building three hundred and twenty books, all original, not one translated, written exclusively by women. This is a good showing, when we remember that the nation is continually in a fierce struggle for self-preservation; that until recently no avenues of higher education were opened to women, and that the nation is comparatively small, of only five million inhabitants. The German women had only five hundred copies, and the French women only seven hundred. But not only do the Bohemian women write poetry, novels and drama; they have made some very successful attempts in scientific and educational literature, some having written well in history, hygiene, physiology, geology, travels, and as art critics. There is one remarkable fact which I wish to note in closing, and that is that all the students of the University of Prague are very friendly to the attempts made by women pleading for admission. The women of Bohemia have done this work quietly; they are pressing toward the same mark to which the women of the whole civilized world are directing their desires and ambitions; but whatever they do, for whatever they may long, they never forget their obligation to the nation, and are first patriots and then women. They stand in the ranks of soldiers, fighting for the sacred right of Bohemia, bearing the heat and smoke of the battle, ministering to the wounded, and yet performing their duties as wives, mothers and sisters. They cannot point to glorious buildings, clubs and enterprises, for every penny is needed by the country, and no one can under-
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