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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday
B* THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
• At 20 East Alabama St,, Atlanta. Ga.
Entered as second-class matter at postoffn-e at Atlanta, under art of March 3. 1879.
Who Are the Five Greatest
Women in History?
r r r
Probably the Five Greatest Women Are Not IN History at All—at
Least Not in History as Little Men Have Written It. Luckily,
the Great Women That We Know Are Numbered in Thousands,
and Those Greater Still Are Unknown.
Between “ votes-for-vvomen '' parades there is discussion of the
question. “Who are the five greatest women in history?"
The question is interesting, hut it can not be satisfactorily an
swered.
You may pick out a thousand great women one after the other,
and yet you would not he satisfied to put any one of them among
the five greatest. For instance:
Catherine of Russia. She was a big woman, in size and in
brain. She did one big thing when she overcame the disadvantage
of birth and surroundings. She was a camp follower, not better
than other women of that low class. She established the Russian
Empire probably, and saved Peter the Great, who married her.
when she brought about the defeat of the Turks ami the destruction
of Charles XII of Sweden. She did it very simply, by giving the
Turkish general all her jewelry and all the money she could get and
persuading him to go home and consider himself defeated, betray
ing Charles XII. She was useful to Russia, a big and an able
woman—but she was’NOT among the five greatest women.
Then there was the other Catherine of Russia—a German prin
cess married to a Russian emperor. She was an able woman. The
less said about her private character the better and in that she
resembled many great MEN.
’ She gave a good organization to Russia. But she probably
would be placed properly among the five worst women rather than
among the five best.
THE MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI. She was a fine woman,
and she bore fine sons—which is about the best thing that any
woman CAN do. A woman is a CREATOR of human beings, not a
PERFORMER in the human arena Her boys were probably as
good, as unselfish, heroic and patriotic as any that ever lived. And
if they had lived one or two centuries later they might have saved
Rome a great deal of trouble and postponed the downfall of civiliza
tion and the overwhelming inrush of barbarians.
But the mother of the Gracchi was not among the five greatest
women.
QUEEN ELIZABETH was a wonderful woman she did a
great deal for Engalnd. And England did a great deal more for
her. If she had lived in a smaller country she would have been less
of a woman. She shines in the light of the greatness that surround
ed her. rather than by her own light. But she was great in away
great as a diplomat, more than a match for the cunning Spanish
and French ambassadors at her court. Ami she knew enough not
to get married, not to let some man do badly the work that she
was able to do well. But she was NOT among the five greatest.
Marie Theresa of Austria was an able fighting citizen. And
even against one of the greatest of men, Frederick the Great, she
made a noble struggle for the welfare of her successors aiid her na
tion—as she understood it. But she was only a determined woman,
allowing the men in her service to fight when they suggested fight
ing SHE was not among the five greatest.
Joan nf Arc a beautiful character. Everything that we know
about her is good. But we do not know very MUCH about her. It
is perhaps true that history, studying her more accurately, will find
in her the “MASCOT?' of the French nation and the French army,
rather than the LEADER of that army.
Her courageous and beautiful death burned alive by the
ehurch at the command of England, because when her woman's
fclothes were taken from her she pul on the clothes of a man is one
of the greatest tragedies ami crimes in history. She was a girl of
faith and courage, inspiring the Frenchmen, no doubt, to tight
bravely. Intellectually, however, she was probably not a great
Voman.
Madame Roland was great in her way. and charmingly weak
tn her way also She made a great many Frenchmen change from
Btupid conservatism to radicalism. She talked for the revolution
which the world needed—radical talk and she complained not at
al! when the revolution finally cut off her head. She gave to the
world an interesting sentence, on her way to the gullotine, “Lib
erty, what crimeshave been committed in thy name!' It is prob
able that she would have lived to a peaceful old age. if she had not
foolishly fallen in love with a very much younger man. That hurt
her judgment. She is NOT among the five greatest.
CHARLOTTE CORDAY has been praised for more than a him
dred years for stabbing Marat to death in his bath tub The admi
ration for this young woman who committed murder is based large
ly upon misunderstanding of the character of Marat.
Until recently, all those that talked of him. including Carlyle,
whose statements concerning him were nearly all false, were too
near the French revolution to see anything but the blood. As Burke
said, they saw only the feathers, the aristocracy, and forgot the
dying bird, which was the French people.
After Charlotte Uorday had committed her murder and given
up her life for it. she was admired because it was thought that she
•had killed an ignorant, bloodthirsty tyrant, whom ( arlyle spoke of
as a "horse-leech. "
As a matter of fact. Marat "is i great doctor, the first that ever per
•’formed the operation for cataract on the human eye. and he was probably the
only man that could have carried the French republic upon i firm basis w ith
out any intervening Napoleon, ot any of the other slips tnd accidents and
breakdown.- of history. \ great and powetful man was murdeud when Marat
was killed And Charlotte t'orday at nest was a woman who meant well.
Tou might write Ibra good man.' hours mentioning tlv name, of great
women, from Zenohia to Mrs. Carrie Chapman <’ntt. You might p'mt the
names of hundreds of thousands of able. ecu . ag, mis w town tnd yet not print
any one ot the FIVE greatest that hare lived.
The five greatest women, of course, ARE THE MOTHERS <'F i’Hl * IV E
GREATEST MEN.
The five greatest men that have ever lived undoubtedly among those that
•the world now knows terr Aristotle Michael \ngelo Newton H• •'tlp'ven
and Shakespeare The mothers of those ti\. men weic probably
greatest women that have lived on th’- earth. I ’or * ait.it man IS \\ Hv I
HIS MOTHER MAKES HIM Vnd the five women that cr< 'ted greatest
philosopher, the gteatest scientist, the greatc-t poet, the c c.itt -t musician
■nd the greater art ■ in ■ the world "etc th- «'• tm o-s wom.-v
But back of them, m the night of time, in the httnd ,ds of c’tttu'ies be
fore history began, when the women of the stone tg' . ttlib .’ting the
weeds and developing them into ever' grain that we . it today, when some
woman was bringing up the courageous boy that first < o-sed the big lake -■
the river, when women had to subdue the brutality of men, protect th- chil
dren. tame the will animals and slow'.' change a savage, wandering, hope .-e
race to a fixed and stable nation by cultivating the soil and sticking to tin
home —in those old days probably the greatest women of all were born and
worked, unknown.
The names of she five greatest women are m>t so important. h<> .»<-r. is
the PROBLEM OF GIVING WOMEN OPPORTUNITY ANU THI S EN
ABLING THE HUMAN RACE TO PRODI ct; FIFTY GRE'i Women IN
FUTURE FOR EVERY ONE THAT WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST
And to thi. end the giving of the vote to women tin givmg ..f mt. I • tu<’
interest, the ri'mg of a ehare tn making law- ted in H uip-ii. m-' ■■ - 'na
tions will be the fir-I step
And the man "ho doe m t help tha' -••» t unworthy -i «.’• m- • n wh
gave him whatever power he ma.' po
The Atlanta Georgian
HE NEVER HAD A CHANCE
That Is What Nine Men Out of Ten Who Are Failures Say. Look Out That You Don’t Say It Yourself.
By TAD
- •' • ’
. ■O- C.C -. o - -
, ill- . ■’ %^"'1
/Pc vovA 1 I tMt BALL .1 > <; . i
I ssvo-ju ) . BrrwfEcz . i I ! 1 I |
'«** FO / / H(5 | V/O I ;" | | I" iI H I I
\ fir/ | fiasv ■ I- I! I I
gßwva c
** -JM »• L|[ lC***li' J- I ''A '
L. T f z-
NO. 2.
Yum wns quick to learn anything out
side of geography, arithmetic or history.
He could do tricks with his hat. imitate a
calliope, sing’ popular ditties, and at base
hall was the idol of the gang.
The school teacher called him a master
of the breadless arts.
He carried Hals lor Hie city team ami
learned to pitch. He could do most any
thing the regular pitcher could with Ihc
DOROTHY DIX WRITES
: of——
The Hard Lot of Stepmothers
By DOROTHY DIX
| H 'VE rri ently r-”i-e|vr'd t"n let
| letters f;om young "omen "ho
married "idowers "Till chil
dren und "ho arc finding the road
of the stepmother a thorny one to
travel.
f'ne "Oman, delicately ami lux
uriously reared, declares that -ii“ 1-
forced to be nothing mole not loss
titan a slave to her husband’s chil
dren. and that the.' receive all of
her ministrations without gratitude
or appreciation.
The other woman says that she
has a lot of unruly youngsters to
deal with. who are prejudiced
against In i’ i" their mother's peo
ple. and sir want- to know how to
stop the interference of these rela
tives. and "bethel siie should pun
ish the children het self, or tell their
father on them, md let him chas
tise them.
To these l.tilie-, and ill otlte’
stepmothers, 1 extern! my heartfelt
simnalli'. Ami t It- same to the
st• t'ehild •n. I ■m!”ut>tcdly the j.~»b
of being a stepmother is the haid
e-t one on •aith. and the on - with
the |e ( ! pat 1.. " Ner it is a
|.|.ati. to bt steticliild.
Artificial J3ond Is
Easily Broken.
I’D” bond moth o : and
< bild is th’ s’lt ’iF- t and sweetest
«•!!? in natnr* . but " this bond
u- artitif ially Dn eed thoru i snme
thing in it *Hiat .iliiu'st always
Mia). - it caU bo’ h llu n- t k 1 - of l '>■
mother and the child b-\ond ‘-n
--duramu. There is an instinctixe
sniagonism and jual»»u>\ between
tlo children and tin- woman who*
si.inds in th* ir m<»thvr's place and
the woman and IKj child'’ n wlm
h'c her husband’s, but not hers No
cbDd !b’<*of dopjing with this
situation, and tew women i’< big
• nough and broad enough t" meet
it in iio m opt i wax.
To with, all children ar*
i> \ ing They ai e noisx. dirty.
ui»M>d>. ca'chss. mis< hievous They
. m t<> • lilies- lab’" inexhausti-
ble nat :eru * and s> mpathv Th»
w! - p >rb-. of to i giv f- * hi
! > th” «nothf ' no that* sh” think:*
ih* u rip ' and f’"»; 1 ’Up’d liMP
brat < mira of beautx and in’”?-
WEDNESDAY. MAY 22. 1912.
ball, ami the boys were certain that his
curves “broke better."
On Saturdays and Sundays Yum grab
bed a piece of change here and there toss
ng them over the platter for the home team.
His lift* was wrapped up in the game now
and he quit school entirely.
What did a ball player want with pen
manship and algebra? Nothing. They
cmildtt t fool him: he knew.
ligeniF. The yells of a squalling
infant are not niadd* ning noise to
h*i. hut sweetest musiu.
But heaxo-n works no "itch mir
acle for the stepmother. Instead of
seeing In" stepchildren through a
rosx mist of mother lo\e she be
holds them surrounded by a pea
green aura of jealousy. Therriaults
are not hidden, but magnified, and
it tak*'s almost superhuman
strength of cbaiaeter to make h**r
deal with them justly and lytndly.
And this difficulty is exaggerated if
she h is ( hildien of her own and is
• ailed upon to hold the scales
twcf'n her own infant phenomenon
and th" first wife’s ordinal x off
spring.
Women Heroic Who
Weds a Father.
Nur ir the stepumtliei p pf» c itjon
tendered easier by th"
riren'.-- mother's relatives putting
their fingers into the pie. The.'
m tk' a bad matter worse by con
-t.intly b!o"ipg about the slumber
ing feud between the two factions.
Certainly any "mnttn must be of
heroic mold, or else fond of taking
foolhardy risks, "ho marries a wid
owr ’ " ith children. Rut having
done so. she ehouid reflect that the
p-isttion she find'-; herself tn is of
her own eno,Tine and that she vol
untarily took upon herself its ob
ligation.-. It U a hard thing to he a
gaod mat! -r. It i.- i much rume
difficult task tn be a good step
mother. Hut it ian be done, as
thousands of noble and devoted H
"omen have proven "Im have |i
taken other women's children to
their heart and mothered them so
".-irmly that th. y nevi r knew they
" ere motlmrless.
There have been many .-t qel step
mothers, but there have been many
other stepmothers who have been
hettm. more intelligent, more lov
ing and tenderei mothers to their
slepihlldren titan their own moth
ers could have been. There are
many stepmothers who have c.otnr
. like an inspiration into the lives of
motherless boys and girls and who
have b-en more loved and revered
o> then mtn hildren than they
v by th- r • n
In dealtrig "ith stepchildren
there is only one rule to follow,
and that is the Golden Rule. Treat
them as you "ould have some other
"oman treat your children were
you dead and another reigned in
your stead. When the youngsters
are bad. or mischievous, ask y-our
self it you could rest in your grave
if some other woman was beating
your child’s tender little body for
an unthoughted prank. When you
are tempted to scold a child, or
send him supperless to bed. ask
yourself if heaven would be heaven
to you if you could look down and
see your baby’s trembling lips and
hurt look, and hear your little child
sobbing himself to sleep.
As to my correspondent’s ques
tion as to whether she should pun
ish her little stepchildren, or tell
their father on them. 1 should say:
Do neither. The only way that any
human being can be ruled is by
love. To beat and punish children
does nothing but make little hypo
- rites and sneaks and liars our of
them; and. at most, the rule of fear
is so short! There is such a little
time that a child stands in bodily
fear of the whip, or the dark cor
ner. o, whatever instrument of tor
ture you devise for it.
And when that is over, when the
child is as strong as you are. if you
do not rule it through love, you
have absolutely no hold upbn it
whatever. It laughs at you and de
fies you. but if you have made it
your slave through tenderness and
love, you tnay rule it to the longest
day of your life.
Use Diplomacy to
Win Childrens' Hearts.
So I would advise this young
stepmother to forget everything
else and go to work to win her
stepchildren's hearts by using as
much tact and diplomacy and
’ harm as she did in catching their
father, and she will find that they
will do sot love of her what-they
would ne'er do through fear. More
over. "ben she makes the children
lo'e her she can snap her fingers
in the interfering relatives’ faces,
and be- husband " ill rise up and
call It; ble -ed if shr is. indeed.
P ncothei to bis motherless little
ones.
THE HOME PAPER
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Writes on
The Crosses We Build
in Youth
—and— aiF 1
How Our Nobler Selves
Are Born
W ritten For The Atlanta Georgian
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Copyright, 1912, by American-Journal-Examiner.
PAUSING a moment ere the
day was done
While yet the earth was scin
tillant with light.
J backward glanced; From valley,
plain and height.
At intervals, where my. life-path
had run.
Rose cross on cross; and nailed
upon one
Was my dead self. And yet that
gruesome sight
Lent sudden splendor to the fall
ing night.
Showing the conquests that my
soul had won.
Up to the rising stars I looked and
cried,
There is no death! For year on
year, re-born
I wake to larger life: to joy more
great.
So many times have 1 been cru
cified,
So often seen the resurrection
morn.
I go triumphant, though new Cal
varies wait.
EVERY man. every woman
who has made use of life,
and grown in nobility of
character with the years, has be°n
many times crucified; many times
nailed to the cross of his own crea
tion; and many times has kno« n
the joy of resurrection.
We build our crosses in early
youth: our crosses of mistakes,
ambitions, and false pleasures: of
self-centered hopes; or of idle
*ness. and love of ease.
Then come the relentless .'ears;
Alas, the Poor Bachelor!
By ADA PATTFSRSON.
rpHE world seems to have eon
l spired against the peace of
mind of bachelors—both
kinds. A Boston woman wants
them to wear labels. Not taken,”
or words to that effect, like the "To
let" sign on a vacant house.
Another says she is quite w illing
to see the rule enforced with both
sexes, the word "maid" being bla -
zoned in a conspicuous place on the
apparel of the woman who is wth
out a husband
A famous woman declares fhal
women who will not wed should be
fined; that a bachelor sex-tax
should be imposed upon the skirted
as well as the, trousered bachelor.
And now comes from a pulpit the
sweeping statement that ail bach
elors. regardless of sex, are useless
beings and should be banished to
an island, there to get. along as
well as they can, but to finish their
work out of sight of useful citizens.
So Jane Addams. who founded
Hull House, and I’lara Laughlin,
who has guided the destinies of so
many maidens by her tender pen
that She is known as "The Girl’s
Friend," and Alary Garrett Hay,
who is the president of the Federa
tion of Women's Clubs in the Em
pire StAte. and Miss Mary Dreier,
who directs the Women's Trades
Unions, and Gertrude Barnum, who
is active, and Florence
Guernsey, who is arranging the
transcontinental excursion of the
women s clubs to San Francisco,
and Ada Rehan, who never niarried
because she was too busy immor
talizing’ the characters of Shake
speare’s women, and Maude Ad
ams. idolized by the young girls of
this country . to whom she is an ex
ample of the studious life, of the
gospel of self-development, of quiet
charity,’are useless.
And Harrison Fisher, who draws
the new beauty in her perfection
of health and character, setting a
new standard for womanhood; the
Wright brothers, who blazed some
% Bank Goblins
By WILLIAM WALLACE WHITELOCK.
ONCE there was a little bank,
That got itself in bad,
And couldn't pay depositors,
Who acted quite like mad.
And stormed around its doors and
cried:
"We want our hard earned pay!"
And wouldn’t hear a word of sense.
And wouldn’t go away.
So ’long there came a great big man
And gobbled it like that!
And J. P. M ’ll get 'ou
Fore y ou know where you are a*.
and they tie us to our cross, and
nail us upon it: and they leave us
there until we die.
Until the Self which cared for
those things dies; anti a nobler
and truer, and wiser, and more
spiritual self rolls the stone away
from the door of the sepulchre, and
comes forth.
Vet even this Self comes fortfi
only to be again crucified; and
again buried, and again resurrect
ed to a still higher and fine; Self.
Whatever you are suffering to
day. whatevf» despair, disappoint
ment and anguish may be yours,
think of it as a crucifixion of some
lesser and baser part of your mul
tiple Self, which is to he followed
by a resurrection of the REAL
Self; the Rea] YOU; strong, and
ivise. and brave, and made more
useful and universal by this ex
perience.
And just in proportion to your
aiceptanee of tin truth, u hi'h
life is endeavoring Io teach you.
will be lessening nf your cruci
fixions.
Once the lesson ir perfectly
learned, the teacher does not ask
ils continual repetition. When the
illumination comes and your old
self is dying upon the cross, you
"ill lift '-our eyes and say, "It is
F inished,"" and then the Spiritual
Veu "ill be born; io live evermore
in the Light of knowledge and
power and love.
of the first paths to the skies;
George Ade. who lias furnished the
lonh fm dispirited li\c- b> making
laughter, and James Whitcomb Rj
ley, olio has sunk the purnmet to
the vprr depths of feeling bv his
hotnel} verse; Brand Whitlock, who
practices the Golden Rule in the
city government of Toledo.
Suppose the} were all banished
•o a far island in the Atlantic or
Pacific Harrison h'irher would
cease his sketches of splendid,
long-limbed young women and pee
vish!} set about crayon drawings
of landscapes without allure or
promise. The Wright brothers
would dabble no longer in aero
nautics. and would sullenly try
their constructive .1 ill at plows.
George Ad*. with no ma ses of hu
manity to instore him to jest,
would compose dirges for the fu
nerals on the i-'and. md James
Whitcomb Riley would lose bis in
terest in and. write about
squirrels. Brand Whitlock, haring
no si ope for his organizing powers
and no inspiration for his novels,
would turn sullen misanthrope.
Jane Addame could build no more
Hull Houses except for the bach
elors. who would probably ungra
ciously refuse lo five in them. Miss
Laughlin might pen essays on
"Suggestions for the Greater Ami
ability of Men," which would not be
appreciated and certainly not fol
lowed. Miss Dreicr, Miss Hay and
Miss Guernsey would grow fretful
because the} had nothing to do ex
cept for themselves, and Ada Re
han and Maude Adams would play
for each other, and each, unstimu
lated by large audiences, would
turn acid critic.
Bette' not banish them, Mr.
Preacher.' The world is not of your
opinion of their uselessness. And,
deubtless. each of these distin
guished individuals and all the less
er compart} of bachelors bv chore
know better than you, whether thev
would make good husbands or
wives.
Then there was another bank
That tried a lot of stunts.
Hypothecatin' bonds and things.
And some, too, more tjjan once.
And when the bank inspectors came
They covered up their tracks,.
And laughed and went on doin' tricks
And laughed and went on doin tri' ks
But. oh! that great big man he knew.
And watched 'em like a cat—
Xnd J P. M.H get >ou
Tore you know where you are at>