e
they are much more likely to succeed without the suffrage than with it.
It is not by general law-making that they can better themselves in
these particulars. Individual fitness for this or that branch of work
is what is required for success. And if, by thorough preparation, women
can discharge this or that task, not essentially masculine in its
requirements, as well as men, they may rest assured that in the end
their wages will be the same as those of their fathers and brothers in
the same field of work.

And how is it with our homes--how fares it with American women in the
family circle? To all right-minded women the duties connected with home
are most imperative, most precious, most blessed of all, partaking as
they do of the spirit of religious duty. To women this class of duties
is by choice, and by necessity, much more absorbing than it is to men.
It is the especial field of activity to which Providence has called
them; for which their Maker has qualified them by peculiar adaptation
of body and mind. To the great majority of American women these duties
are especially absorbing, owing to the difficulty of procuring paid
subordinates, well qualified for the tasks they undertake. The task of
positive labor, and the task of close supervision, are both
particularly burdensome to American wives and mothers. Thus far, or at
least until very recently, those duties of wife and mother have been
generally performed conscientiously. The heart of every worthy American
woman is in her home. That home, with its manifold interests, is
especially under her government. The good order, the convenience, the
comfort, the pleasantness, the whole economy of the house, in short,
depend in a very great measure on her. The food of the family is
prepared by her, either directly or by close supervision. The clothing
of the family passes through her hands or under her eye. The health of
the family is included within the same tender, watchful, loving
oversight. The education of the children is chiefly directed by her--in
many families almost exclusively so. Whether for evil or for good, by
careless neglect or by patient, thoughtful, prayerful guidance, she
marks out their future course. This is even too much the case. American
fathers love their children fondly; no fathers more affectionate than
they are; they pet their children; they toil ceaselessly for them; but
their education they leave almost entirely to the mother. It may be
said, wit