The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-12-02
YOUNG WoMeN,s TIME.
What is it That They do Which COmpe1s
Them to be Always "Busy7"
Does ANYBODY know what becon


Does anybody know what becomes
of girls time? Was there ever a
girl who could tell what she did with
It or where she put it. or account in
any reasonable way for its mysterious
disappearance?
Are the girls minutes like the lost
pins, of which nobody ever finds a
trace. though the factories have been
at work so long that one would think
that the dropped ones would constitute
in themselves an adequate source of
supply?
There are some things which have
this capacity for utter annihilation.
Wild animals are never found dead in
the forests; watering place friendships
vanish into wind swept space; the hole
in the stocking speaks of texture
which once was there, but is there no
longer; yet these things get out of the
world no more quietly and unaccount-
ably than the hours and minutes of a
good proportion of young women.
There is theory. which is common
ly accepted, that a girls time is all
spent upon dress. Certainly little of
it goes great way, but the amount
must be small. Older women, with
many social and domestic cares, dress
quite as we'll as young girls, and usual
ly better.
They cannot give all their time, or
even any appreciable part of it, to the
planning and purchasing of their raj
ment, so there is evidently fallacv in
the idea that feminine attire is capable
of engrossing the entire attention of a
woman.
There is another theory that girls
time is spent in entertaining members
of the other sex. but this is absolutely
untenable. Even the mildest of fiirta-
tions calls for two fiirters, and, as the
student of our social system is never
weary of pointing out, we have no
class of men whose time is their own.
A girl may spend her evenings and
Sundays in amusing the masculine
half of creation. but business hours
are sacred from her invasion. Her
will might be good to so spend the
hours from sunrise till midnight, but in
the nature of the case her opportuni-
ties are limited.
Is it domestic cares which are so alb
sorbing? The newspaper paragrapher
would say not. and l think on the
whole he was right. This is not be-
cause more girls are unwilling to share
the household responsibilities, but be-
cause during the time of their educa-
ton home life goes on without their as.
sistance, and once out of school they
find no place ready made in which they
can be useful.
1t is about as easy for the camel tc
frO thronrh tho nooAlosc oro nc 1be
daughter of well-to-do family to find
any domestic duties worthy the name
in her fathers house.
There are yet other ways in which il
is popularity supposed girls time il
employed, such as study and CORE
spondence. But did you ever go to :
morning class9 If SO, you know per.
fectly well the formula: Il was sc
busy / hadn't a minute to spare fol
preparation!'
Have you any women among your
correspondents. and did one of then
ever write a letter without explaining
how busy she was and had been fol
weeks past and would be for weeks Il
come? Whatever the mysterious
grinding tasks which fate imposes upor
the young women who have apparent
| ly nothing to do, by their own con
fession studying and writing are not
among things sought.
Perhaps the subject is worthy o.
scientific investigation. 1t would be
as useful to the race as the discovery
of the north pole and, though the in
quiry might De as long and tedious as
an Arctic exploration. it would not be
so dangerous. Industrially it might bt
of value.
Here is vast amount of labor, which
we know. on the testimony of ever.
girl in the land. is put forth daily. ye
without visible result. Would not ex
periments to make it productive be a
Legitimate as those for the reduction O
aluminium or the utilization of tht
solar force?
Anthropologists might spare little
time from the study of cranial develop
ment and turn their attention to find
ing out what becomes of girls time
1t ought surely to be DONE if for NJ
other reason than to CRAFTY the deal
girls themselves, who certainly are a
much in the dark on this question a
anyone else.-Kate Fields Washington