City and town life -- Fiction; Southern States -- Fiction; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- Fiction
Selah Adams, by virtue of the fact that during her college years she had
belonged to a sorority with Greek letter coverings and many gruesome
rites within, was the one person engaged in the suffrage campaign who
recognized the advantage to be derived from secrecy in organizing the
women for the struggle. She perceived the appeal that this would make to
their pride and ambition. It was at her suggestion that all the work of
committees in Jordantown should be conducted as quietly as possible. The
women were pledged not to betray plans to any one but women belonging to
the League. So when women of all classes discovered that they would be
received most cordially in an organization fostered by the leading
ladies of the place, they hastened to join. For the first time social
lines in Jordantown disappeared. The banker's wife walked down the steps
of the Woman's Building arm in arm with the grocer's wife. In their
first stages of growth all political movements are divinely democratic.
It is not until the thing has been reduced to a working formula that
some boss seizes the formula and the tyrannies of monarchical methods
begin.
Selah adopted the same plan of secrecy in organizing women's
Co-Citizens' Leagues in the country neighbourhoods. This was her part of
the work. She was not only beautiful in a grave and dignified fashion,
she had the adorable gift of youth when it came to relating herself to
elder women.
She was one of the sensations, blessing the eyes and stimulating the
imagination of all travellers along country roads as she passed in her
car from one neighbourhood to another. She was invariably accompanied
upon these expeditions by some farmer's wife who was already an officer
in some other League. She wore white linen tailored clothes and a
three-cornered white turban, with a pair of white wings spread and
lifted high at the back of her head, which is the one proper place for
wings on a mortal. The brain of a man or woman is the only soaring part
of them. Sublimated spiritual bodies may look naturally supernatural
with wings attached to the breastbone or between the shoulders behind,
but the fairest, most spiritual, woman would appear a trifle ludicrous
with them anywhere else unless she should be dancing a ballet with no
skirts on worth mentioning. Selah achieved a sort of glorified presence
very grateful to the eyes of the farmers' wives and daughters, who did
not understand how much of it was due to the wings on her hat.
Her method was simple after she had made the first round of the county,
visiting the women in their homes and explaining the purpose of the
Co-Citizens' Leagues. Each week the _Signal_ published her itinerary.
She would meet the women of Possum Trot on such and such a day. She
would address the Co-Citizens' League of Sugar Valley on Tuesday
afternoon. She would meet with the Co-Citizens of Dry Pond on Friday
afternoon--always at the schoolhouse.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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