The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-01

DOM She develops a mission" does
q little public speaking and is honorary
secretary to something or other-for
preference, something which has to do
with the woman problem" and the
discussion Of it in mixed company. Her
friends have put up with it as best they
can, but there is nothing particularly
| interesting about her to the rest of US.
She Iaboriously wastes her life in
deliberately worked out unfemininity,
and occasionally marries professional
| phllanthropist, who suffers for the sake
OF what ne can do with her money
| With the poorer kind it is different
| Inc fairly-well educated daughter ot
INDECENT parents often takes the first
| steps toward female bachelordorn with
out knowing whittier they tend. An
editor has generally to answer for her
earliest deviatioRs from the straight
and narrow path He prints some lit
tie twaddle of hers, and she proceeds
10 lombard him and his fellows, with
unremitting industry. day and night.
( Perhaps three out of thirty chance con-
tributions get into print before she dis
covers that fashion reports and de-
scriptive ''pars" are hers TO write. If
only she can get the opportunity Of
writing them. There is living TO be
earned by this; but it has to be attend
ed to assiduously and worked at man
fully. She slips into it gradually. and
claims mans freedom in
Ia n -
! unprepossessing calliDg-about the
time she finds she is doing the work of
the humber kind OF hack male Jour
nalist for about half his pay. She
wants 10 come in and go out when she
hkes-or when her employers like
without having 10 account for her pro-
ceedings: and, indeed, it would be hard
TO deny her the right 10 do So She
sees no reason why she should not get
such solace as comes her way; so she
does not hesitate to go to the pit of a
theater with some brother of the craft
VIII ON her parents know not. She will
not always spurn music hall. She
smokes cigarette after the DAVIS toll
is over for no woman can smoke sensi-
bly, like man over her work., and she
comforts herself for the many unpleas-
antnesses of her surroundings by pre-
tending to think that she is living her
own life" To do so more effectively,
she talks eagerly on subjects that used
not to form any part of conversation in
which women joined. She is strong on
the rights of a woman to be and do any
thing she chooses, and her conversa-
ton is apt to be a little embarrassing
to old-fashioned men. But she is far
from meaning any harm by it.
Society not having made up its mind
to accept the working female bachelor,
she gets no ladylike dissipation. She
goes to many fine functions" and
gorgeous dwellings to do" the dresses;
but she is only there on sufferance.
The servants regard her as young
person" and their betters are a little
afraid of her. Besides. thoy are not
quite sure that she is not rather i'm
proper young woman. Nice mammas
in slightly lower circles cannot coun-
tenance her or permit their daughters
to associate with her; manners are con-
tagious. and the female bachelor lets
her men friends Yisit her at her rooms.
Yet her morals are the conventional
ones, and she gets no particular excite
ment or forbidden JOY out of her def
ance to the ordinary rules which regu-
late the conduct of well-bred women.
She is not contented with her life
after the first novelty of 'emancipa-
ton" has worn off. She realizes that
she gets all the discomforts of male
bachelordom much multiplied. and
none of its alleviations. The world OF
business regards her as a woman, and
allows her none of the equality of man
privileges of the womanhood she seems
to DEFY. 1t is natural enough, but it
is unfortunate. Every day makes
il more difficult than ever for
a considerable portion of our
women to marry, and
every circumstance tends to make the
young spinster less inclined to bear
the drudgery and ennui of the
few respectable employments open 10
her. The demand for journalistic
hack-worl<, on the other hand, grows
daily greater. and women do 1t better
and cheaper than men. There is room
for any number of them TO make a
bare living at it, it seems; and the
chances are that, in spite of its hard
ships, the woman who cannot be en-
tirelv idle will continue to press into
It. The life is hardly brilliant, when I
all is said; and the temptations 10 4
make it more endurable by whatever I
means must sometimes be almost over /
Women get very little by /
merely taking upon themselves TO imi- 4
tate certain of mems ways. and the /
female bachelor. after finding that /
even to join a club is not deliciousiy I
celebrating, discovers this. Just at
present she is making rather good
copy" on the subject in the journals;
he next generation may ind that she
has gone a good deal beyond this. u
ices not seem very unlikely that she
viii seek 70 level. as far as she can. all
distinctions between herself and her
masculine counterpart; she viii cease
her clamOrs about the male standard
y morality. and adopt it for her own
Use. This Is not an agreeable pros
,ect.
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