(七月廿七日)
昨日本校日刊作社论,评纽约拳术比赛场中有妇女侵入强作宣传妇女参政之演说,其论甚刻薄,吾作书驳之。
Editor, CORNELL DAlLY SUN:
Even the Summer Sun has its wintry aspect, and the conservative spirit which pervades the editorial, entitled "A Noble Spectacle," is certainly appalling.
I do not see why a party of women suffragists invading a boxing contest in order to secure a hearing for what you, Sir, have properly called "The Cause", should arouse in apparently intelligent souls such indignation and sarcasm as you have expressed in your editorial. Personally—if you will allow me to be a little personal, —I have much greater admiration for those ladies whom you have so indignantly ridiculed, than for those who have no "causes" whatever, and who can be passively led or invited to enjoy a football game or a dancing party. I do not see why the arena for such a perfectly barbaric practice as prize fighting should not be more legitimately employed as the auditorium for a suffrage oration, than a great university daily of the 20th century should be used to propagate anti-suffrage or anti-woman ideas.
It is almost unnecessary for me to point out that the strong desire for publicity on the part of the suffragists is due partly to the indifference of the public, but partly to the unpardonable reactionary opposition of some of the "ought-to-know-better" newspapers, one of which you have elsewhere compared with the gods who "occasionally descend from Olympus to err with the rest of humanity."
"WHO"
〔中译〕
康乃耳《太阳报》主笔先生:
夏天的阳光也会带有冬天之韵味。昨日,贵刊发表社论,题为“一个壮观之场面”,该文中渗透着一种保守精神,这着实令人震惊。
一群妇女女权主义者侵入拳术比赛场,以求获得社会公众之注意,先生您曾确切地称之为“尚有争议之事件”,吾不明白,此事件何故竟在这些貌似智识之士中间,引起如此之愤慨和挖苦,正如贵刊社论所指出的那样。作为个人——倘若足下允准吾发表一点个人意见的话——吾倒是更加钦佩那些女士,她们曾被足下愤慨地奚落过;而不是那些终日无所事事之女士,也不是那些只会被人牵着鼻子走,沉溺于足球赛或舞会之女士。吾不明白,何故一所二十世纪著名之大学尚可用来作宣传反妇女参政权或反女权思想之场所,而竞技场这一用来奖励争斗之十足野蛮的地方,竟不能用作宣传妇女参政权之合法讲坛。
其实不用吾来指明,大家亦皆明白,这一批妇女参政主义者之所以强烈要求诉诸公众,其原因,部分是由于公众对此大多漠不关心,部分是由于一些自称“明理”之报纸对此妄加指责,无端批评,而其中有一份报纸,足下在别处曾把它比作一神祇,“他住在奥林匹斯山(奥林匹斯山,据传系希腊诸神之住所),偶尔下凡为下界平民指点迷津。”
“胡某人”
吾与此报主者Maurice W. Hows〔莫里斯W.豪斯〕雅相友善,故投此书戏之耳。