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 70
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Alas, how different do we find the practice! The nobility and dignity of labor are lost sight of because those who employ look upon it as only a means whereby they may reach the object of their ambition. It is considered but a commodity to be bought and sold, and like any other article for which we bargain, bought at the greatest possi- ble profit to the purchaser, while the natural necessities pressing the laborer compci him to sell, though he knows he is selling under actual valuc. And as all men's neces- sities are not equal, we find them in the labor market underbidding cach other, with a
Mrs. Leonora Marie Lake is a native of Cork, Ireland. Her parents were John and Honor Kearney, both of Ireland. She was educated in the publie school of Pierrepont, St. Lawrence County, N. Y. She has traveled through the United States and parts of Great Britain and the Continent. She married Mr. O. R. Lake, of St. Louis, Mo., in April, 1890. Her special work has been in the interest of working women and children; also, Total Abstinence. Her literary efforts are news- paper articles on her work. Her profession is that of housewife. In religions faith she is a Roman Catholic, and is a meni- ber of St. John's Church, of St. Louis, Mo. Her postoffice address is 12)4 Second Carondelet Avenue, St. Louis, Mo.
* The above is but a synopsis of an address delivered by Mrs. Lake under the title: "The Dignity of Labor in Theory and Practice."
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view to supplying those necessities rather than considering the value of their labor. Again, labor can not be either noble or dignified when the demand upon the physical and mental energies is so severe that the laborer becomes a drudge, as we find in many cases, where long hours and arduous toil deprive human beings of the necessary time for recreation and recuperation. We expect a pleasant smile and cheerful compli- ance to our wishes and commands from our household servants or domestics whom we keep dancing about from basement to attic and from kitchen to parlor, obeying our slightest wish, from 4 o'clock in the morning until Io o'clock in the evening, though if we stopped to think of ourselves in the same position we would realize that for us the cheerful smile would be an utter impossibility. Oh, if we would only learn to love humanity more and money less, if our hearts would only respond with love and sympathy for our fellow-beings. If one of the results of this great Columbian Exposition would be to make us more thoroughly understand the " Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." If it would make women more considerate of their sisters who are struggling under the burdens of life, cause them to remember that, no matter what station in life women held, the Creator did not design such wide -. spread separation nor yet different organisms for women. If we would all try to develop that beautiful, gentle, charitable womanliness that is ours by Divine inherit- ance, and put to shame that feline characteristic which we frequently find cropping out in some women, which gives them a cat-like delight when they are scratching and wounding the heart of some sister, then indeed would Columbus' perilous journey have brought out something grander and more beautiful than any exhibit in this Dream City, and would the sacrifice of Isabella's jewels have brought forth a prolific harvest of " love which is the fulfillment of the law!"
INDUSTRIAL WOMEN. By MRS. ELECTA BULLOCK.
Not the least among the things that the nineteenth century has developed is a comparative appreciation of the industrial women of society, and the results of their quiet, carnest and effectual efforts. We view the mar- velous industrial institutions of the civilized world as they exist today with wonder, and when we pause for a few moments to trace the history of their gradual development back to their infancy, we invariably find that their creation, nourishment and first strength was the loving and patient work of the industrial mothers of the land. While we point with justifiable pride to the proud position the manufactories occupy today, we do know that they are the outgrowth of the hand- card, the old and revered spinning-wheel, and the family hand-loom, the knitting and sewing needles.
1 well remember that at the age of ten years I commenced to spin the yarn to make my own dresses. My father was obliged to shorten the legs of the spinning-wheel so I would be able to reach the spin- dle. Four ten-knotted skeins was considered a full day's work. There were forty threads in cach knot, and when we would reel we would have to count one, two, three, four, five, until we had our forty threads, then we would tie it in order to separate the knot. MRS. ELECTA BULLOCK. But we were made very happy one day by my father bringing in a clock reel, which done away with the old system of counting. When I would get very tired of walking back and forth at the wheel all day my mother would say: "Dear child, sit down and rest you; there is your knitting-work; you must not be idle. You must always remember what I have taught you, that industry is the source of wealth." I have mentioned these habits of industry in former times more especially for the young ladies who may be present. Girls in those days, between the ages of ten and twenty years, were found at the spinning-wheel, while the girls of today are to be found in our colleges and universities, where they have the privilege of learn- ing not only of the arts and sciences, but of the various industrial pursuits of life. Go through the educational, commercial and manufacturing centers of this land of ours, we see the handiwork of woman standing side by side with the proudest achievements of man; and upon all the stupendous monuments of the century's advancement will be found the refining touch and gilded finish of woman's work, inspiring society to higher and nobler efforts and still grander achievements.
The governmental statistics showing the percentage of female labor employed in the various industries of the land, if but understood by all our people, would cause the progressive element of society to bow in reverence to her achievements and the part she is daily playing in the advancement of all that is good and great.
We affirm that with woman's influence withdrawn from governmental affairs,
Mrs. Electa Bullock was born in Huron County, Ohio. Her parents were Gideon Murphy and Hannah Daley Wood Murphy. She has traveled over the United States in the interest of the woman's suffrage and relief societies which she repre- sents. In 1891 she was a delegate from Utah to the International Convention in Washington, D. C. She is a member of the Latter Day Saints, or so-called " Mormon " Church. She was in charge of the Woman's Department of the Utah Building in the World's Columbian Exposition, which position she filled acceptably. She now resides at Provo City, Utah County, Utah.
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anarchy would prevail; withdraw her labor from the manufacturing establishments of the land and its wheels would become stilled; dispense with her in our schools and the grand educational systems of today would degenerate to the darkness of the long past; banish her from the arts and they would lose their very divinity; take her from the industrial walks and avocations of life and confine her exclusively to the narrow sphere . of house-wife and maid-servant, and the wheels of progress would turn backward and the retrogression of society would be the inevitable result. On the contrary, support her in her proud position of wife and mother, sustain her in every advance movement, and the women of America will lead society onward and upward, from civilization to civilization, through endless stages of progress.
THE FAITH OF ISLAM. By MRS. LAURA H. CLARK.
I hope that my brief talk today on the " Faith of Islam" or " Mohammedism' may not be devoid of interest and profit. I shall purposely refrain from much allusion to Mohammed biographically. I prefer to speak of him as a reformer, coming into the world at a date pecul- iarly ripe for instituting and successfully prosecuting such radical and blessed reforms as his. I will sketch, superficially of course, the prominent doctrines of the sacred book of Islam, the Koran, referring to the debt the world owes the mighty power of the desert reformer. Another word, Islam or Mohammedism is greatly changed from its early days; it is sadly degen- erated. We must charge the condition of countries under its sway not to their religion but to its abuse, and to evils inherent in the Tartar and other races. We might recall also that Christianity itself was once so corrupt as to needa great purification -- the Refor- mation.
Within the memory of many, Mohammed has only been regarded as a monster, a sort of diabolic warrior whose precepts are written in blood and whose fol- lowers must needs be the very incarnation of cruelty. To this I reply that conquerors have ever been cruel, and religious wars the most bitterly relentless the MRS. LAURA H. CLARK. world has ever known. Witness the expulsion of, the inhabitants of Canaan by the Jews, as well as the wars in Africa, Asia and Europe, following the establishment of Christianity down almost to our own century.
( At first those opposed to Islam in war were indiscriminately slain, afterward three offers were made: First, to embrace Islam and enjoy equal privileges with their conquerors; second, to submit to tribute and retain their own religion should it not be exceedingly idolatrous or immoral; third, to decide the contest by the sword. See Joshua's conditions to the Canaanites-"Let him fly who will, let him surrender who will, let him fight who will. " )
But the world moves, and in this year of the World's Columbian Exposition, and just preceding the Parliament of Religions, Mohammed is recognized as a mighty leader for good, a benefactor for the race, perhaps the most remarkable human character the world has ever known.
At the time of Mohammed's birth incessant warfare had raged for many years between the great empires of Rome and Persia. Arabia, lying between them, was held by one, then by the other. The wild Arab tribes had drawn religious ideas from Pagan, Rome, and the fire-worshiping Persian. They knew something, too, of the Jewish faith, for after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jewish colonies had settled throughout Arabia. The Old Testament Scriptures had been translated into Arabic, so that the purer ideas of Monotheism and Christianity were not unknown to them. It can occasion no sur-
Mrs. Laura II. Clark is descended from French-Huguenot stock which emigrated to South Carolina in the earliest yeara of our country. She was educated at Cincinnati and has been a considerable traveler in our own country and Europe. She has always been a student of religions, and is also much interested in art, literature and ethnology. In religious training and profession Mrs. Clark is a Presbyterian. She has resided in Chicago for twenty-two years. Her postoffice address is No. 318 Belden Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
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prise that the religion of the Arabs was a mongrel one, sadly straying from the pre- cepts of Abraham, their great ancestor. They worshiped in their sacred city, Mecca, surrounded by scores of revolting idols, a holy black stone called the "Kaaba," believed to be a relic of a temple built by Abraham; this was a shrine for devout pil- grims. But the hour was ripe for beneficent change. A mighty spirit appeared who could unite these warring tribes into a powerful nation; his teachings should inspire them into purer life; his daring enthusiasm should endue them with courage to over- turn the nations of the earth.
In Mecca, 570 A. D., was born a posthumous child, who was reared in the desert until five years old, when the frequent occurrence of epileptic attacks (always regarded with superstitious fears among the Arabs) determined his return to his mother. I mention this fact because many have ascribed to this nervous disease the religious exaltations and so-called visions of Mohammed.
His youth and early manhood passed uneventfully. For forty years he was a faithful worshiper of the gods of his fathers, yet growing yearly more abstracted, dejected, frequently retiring to pass months in solitary fasting and prayer. Whilst in wretched suspense, meditating self-murder, the Divine call was heard. Through Gabriel, dazzling with supreme glory, the heavenly message came. "Oh, Mohammed, of a truth thou art the prophet of God; arise, preach, and magnify the Lord." This is the real starting-point of Islam. It was the call of the supreme God to forsake idolatry and assume the office of prophet.
I must pass over the long years of weary effort to win disciples. Four years draw but forty around him. During the yearly pilgrimage season he preached constantly; his theme-" There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." He exorted to prayer, almsgiving and fasting, and declared of future judgments to come. When seventy disciples had been won persecutions began with the usual results. Converts multiplied rapidly, and the "Hegira," or flight from Mecca, followed.
Mohammed's penetrating mind realized well human weakness. To keep his follow- ers firm in their purer religious faith he formulated a creed and gave positive precepts for the actions of every day. So was Moses instructed of God to train the Jews. Through minute practical details they were transformed from a rabble of superstitious slaves into brave, God-fearing, free men. So likewise the founders of great orders in the Christian church, Ignatius Loyala, Dominic, Francis of Assisi, etc., each instituted a minute code of rules for the practical life of their followers.
The principles of Islam's faith are essentially orthodox-" Faith and Works." Faith is defined as " confession with the mouth and belief in the heart." "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." Their creed was brief: "I believe in God, angels, books, prophets, the day of judgment, the predestination of evil and the resurrection of the dead."
The devotion of the Mohammedan to the Koran is intense, its authority is absolute in science, ethics and religion. Lest by chance they shall touch its sacred pages unwashed they inscribe upon its cover: "Let none touch it, but they who are clean." They guard it with care and such respect, never holding it below their girdles. They carry the precious book with them to war, inscribe its precepts upon their floating banners, on the walls of their homes and tombs of their loved ones, in gold and precious jewels.
Let me quote this little gem, from the Koran, often called the " Lord's prayer of the Moslem."
"In the name of God the compassionate compassioner. Praise is to God, the Lord of the worlds, the compassionate compassioner, the Sovereign of the day of judgment. Thee we do worship, and of Thee we do beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, on whom there is no wrath who go not astray."
The moral motive of Islam is a solemn sense of implicit obedience and submis- sion to the Divine Ruler-the very name Islam expresses "resigned to the will of
(33)
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God." The ethics of the Koran are essentially those of the New Testament. Our Saviour was held in highest reverence as an inspired prophet, His benign precepts are incorporated therein, thus: " He is righteous who believeth in God and who for love of God shares his wealth with the needy, who observeth prayer, is faithful to promises, patient under hardships and quiet in seasons of distress." " Deal not unjustly with others and ye shall suffer no injustice." "Scorn not thy fellow-man, neither walk the earth with pride, for God loveth not the arrogant and boastful." (Sir William Muir asserts that to this day devout Mussulmen never mention the Saviour's name without adding "on whom be peace." "Say unto the Christians, their God and my God is one." The Koran. )
Mohammed fully realized the inherent evils in polygamy and slavery, and though their practices are recognized in the Koran, he greatly alleviated the wrongs of both. The impositions he placed upon polygamy were a great advance upon the unrestrained licentiousness before prevalent. The legal number of a man's wives was reduced to four. These limitations Mohammed relaxed in his own case, not, however it is believed, through grossness, but because of intense desire for male heirs. The transmission of wives as chattels was forbidden, and the rights of a woman to share in her father's or husband's estate declared.
Slavery had always existed in a mild form in Arabia. Mohammed did much to ameliorate its evils. Slavery and polygamy should not be associated with Islam any more than with Christianity. Both Moses and Mohammed took the institutions of their peo- ple as they found them and sought to mitigate their severest features. ( Have not Christians tried to justify human slavery in this century, in our own land?) The vices most prevalent in Arabia were sternly denounced and absolutely forbidden. Drunk- enness, female infanticide, incestuous marriages, gambling, art of divination and magic entirely disappeared. ( What efforts is nineteenth-century Christendom mak- ing against the alarming growth of gambling?) Mohammed solved the " temperance question " for his people. Neither "high license " nor " low license " vexed his soul; he was a strict Prohibitionist. All pictures or representatives of living objects were wisely prohibited, being considered a violation of the second commandment. (Mo- hammed recognized the authority of the Pentateuch, psalms, etc.)
The four acts or duties of faith are " prayer, fasting, alms-giving and the pilgrim- age." "Cleanliness," says the prophet, "is the key to prayer." Minute rules for ablutions before prayer were given. The entire body was to be washed daily, parts of it oftener-all the while appropriate prayers were repeated. Thus "I am going to purify my bodily uncleanliness, preparatory to commencing prayer, that holy act of duty which draws my soul near to God. In the name of God, great and mighty, praise be to Him who has given me grace to be a Moslem. Islam is a truth, infidelity a falsehood." When cleansing the teeth: "Vouchsafe, O Lord, as I cleanse my teeth, to purify me from all fault and accept my homage. May the purity of my teeth be a pledge of the whiteness of my soul at the day of judgment," and so on through- out the entire body.
The third duty was that of fasting. The Koran prescribes the month " Ramadan " as a very strict fast. (This fast is so strictly enjoined that it is broken if they but smell a perfume, take a bath or injection, or purposely swallow spittle, kiss or touch a woman. Some devout Moslems will not open their mouths to speak lest they breathe the air too freely.) The command is, " from sunrise to sunset neither food nor drink might pass the lips. " In the course of time, the Mohammedan year being lunar, " Ramadan" falls in the midst of summer, and necessitates real suffering in the hot countries of Arabia and the East.
Almsgiving, the third duty, is obligatory. One-tenth of a man's income was devoted to the poor.
The last duty was the pilgrimage to Mecca. This was enjoined at least once in a lifetime. Those dying on the way were considered as martyrs. Each step toward Mecca blotted out a sin.
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What does the world not owe to Islam during the dark ages? For full five hun- dred years Islam bravely bore up the torch of learning to the world. Let us glance at Spain where, under a fortunate succession of Caliph's literature, arts and sciences blossomed into a perfection before unknown. The Arabs collected, translated, and . preserved for us the masterpieces of Greek thought, who advanced upon the gener- osity of Euclid, who developed agriculture and astronomy into sciences. They were noted too for their philosophical lore. Universities existed in all their large cities, Cordova, Granada, Seville, with immense libraries attached, where lectures on classics, rhetoric, mathematics, and other sciences were constantly given. Encyclopædias and lexicons in Hebrew, Greek and Latin were written. Jews and Christians alike pre- sided with Moslems, a degree of toleration unknown in Continental Europe today. So favorable were all their conditions that all Christendom desiring learning and refined surroundings sought to enter there. The Arabs were the introducers of rhyme, their poetry crossed the Pyrenees and reappeared in the Troubadors of Provence which is today recognized as the first impulse of European literature. All mathematical com- putations were revolutionized by their invention of the nine digits and cipher. While all Christendom was declaring the world was flat, the Arabs were teaching geography by the use of globes. Every mosque was a public school where the poor were gratuit- ously taught the Koran and elements of education.
In the practical arts our benefits are as great. They gave us the use of gunpowder, artillery and mariner's compass. They introduced rice, sugar and many of our fine garden and orchard fruits and our medicinal herbs. To them Spain owes the culture of silk and the celebrity of its wines. Irrigation was brought by them with the manu- facture of all sorts of fabrics, rugs, cambrics, silks and cottons for wearing apparel, earthenware, iron, steel and all metal work of every description. (Professor Draper may be consulted for further facts upon this subject. )
Such was the record of Mohammedanism in Western Europe, such its luxury, splendor and knowledge, such are a few only of Christendom's debts to it and which with strange injustice Christendom is loth to acknowledge.
Finally, Islam is essentially a spiritual religion. As instituted by Mohammed it needed no priests and had no sacrifices, it offers no theories of Apostolic succession, gives no powers of absolution. Absolutely nothing intervenes between each human soul and God. Forbidding alike the representation of all living things as objects of admiration, veneration or worship, Islam is more opposed to idolatry than Christianity itself. The interior of every mosque bears witness to this.
Shall the world longer deny Mahomet his true place in history? He exalted and purified his own nation and the age in which he lived. His precepts have brought comfort and benefactions to unnumbered millions. Surely his name should be forever enrolled not as one worthy only of "hero-worship," but as a benefactor deserving the immeasurable gratitude of mankind
A GLIMPSE OF MODERN SPAIN. By MISS LAURA BELL.
So much has been said and written during the last few months about the history of Spain at the close of the fifteenth century, the time when we as a country first came into historical contact with the civilized world, that I think we are all more familiar with the customs of the Spain of that period than we are with the Spain of today.
Entering Spain from France and crossing the Pyrenees, the first interesting place at which to stop is San Sebastian, the noted fashionable Spanish watering place. The Court removes there in the summer, and in fine weather the little King can be seen daily driving to and from the new chateau, which has been built for him, at the extreme end of the town, and which commands a beautiful view of La Concha, the shell-shaped harbor lying below, and the beetling crags opposite, with houses cling- ing to the steep hillsides. The bath-houses are ranged along the beach, and being on wheels, can easily be run into the water, thus avoiding the disagreeable walk across the sand. The King's bath-house is larger than the others, more like a little summer pavilion with a piazza around it; the windows are hung with pretty curtains, the roof and sides are painted yellow and red, the Spanish colors, and surmounted with a crown. A railroad has been constructed down into the water for his bath-house to run over, making a still more agreeable way of reaching the surf. Poor little King! May his path thro' life be smooth and pleasant.
On the way to Madrid, everyone spends a few hours in Burgos, so as to visit the ancient cathedral and to gaze respectfully on the receptacle of the bones of the Cid, that venerable personage about whom there is so comparatively little known, but whose memory is held in such high repute by his countrymen. I think, however, the " beg- gars " of Burgos made as much of an impression upon me as did these two recognized sights of the town. A little squad of ragged and forlorn humanity, varying in num- ber, by actual count, from half a dozen to twenty-three, followed in our wake, display- ing mutilated limbs and sores of every description, too distressing to look upon, and yet so difficult to escape from doing so, for in Spain beggary is a profession, requiring a license, and parents often maim their children in infancy so as to be certain of pro- curing a livelihood for them in the future. Such crippled objects as are always seen in the streets would not, in our own country, be tolerated out of a hospital or an asy- lum, and yet they drag themselves about, presenting a tray for alms to every passer-by. They even besiege the open street cars, where they pass around their little waiter, collecting nearly as many coins thereon as does the conductor himself. The first time I saw this donc I really thought it was a new way of collecting fare! I was told a story about a valued servant girl Icaving her mistress to be married. The lady was naturally interested in the welfare of the girl, and on inquiring what her future hus- band's prospects were, was told with great pride that he had been a poor workman, but now was very well off, indeed, as he had a profession; in fact, he was a beggar with a license. So we sec that professional beggars occupy a very different status in differ- ent countries.
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