Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1897-10-13
THEY NEED WOMEN.
European Colonies Where There
Are But Few Wives.
A Question That IL Attracting Mach
acknowledgements IN the Way
Of Satisfactory Set
Element.

Within the past so years h nations
Of Europe have seized vast parts of the
earth's surface, chiefly in Africa and
Asia, but including also many islands
of the Pacific. The total area that has
thus come under European flags is
nearly as large as North and South
America together. Some of these re-
gions have been found to be well adapt
ed for white settlement and emigrants
have been encouraged to GO to them.
The European nations call these far
off lanIis their colonies, and they are
very anxious to make them self-sup-
porting and develop them int markets
for home manufactures
There is a question which is attract
ing more and more attention, and hat
is the scarcity OF white women in these
colonies. in the French colonies, for
instance, even where the conditions are
most favorable for colonization, as in
Algeria, there are from four to six
French men for every French oma
For the most part there is no family
life, and dissipation Is more general
than would be the case if there were
more homes and more of the social life
that is possible only when the sexes
are nearly equal in numbers. Mr.. Chail-
ley-Bert, who recently wrote in the
Paris Debats about the paucity of white
women in the French colonies, said that
the young men there were like the roar
ing lion, who "goeth about seeking
whom he may ,our."
1t is not asy to solve the problem
in the French colonies, for h young
women of France are not at all eager
to expatriate themselves, even to find
good husbands and comfortable homes.
There are hundreds of colonists who
would like to get married. A olonist
in Algeria has recently been telling his
experience. He says hat for three
years Ne sought IN his own social circle
in France for a young woman who
would share his fortunes in the colony.
At the end OF that time his persever-
ance was rewarded and he is now mar
ried. The fac. is, however, that he did
not find a wife amongthe young women
with whom he had been accustomed to
associate. They liked the colonist, but
the colony terrified them. His wife is
a worthy woman, the daughter of a
farm laborer, and she is making him a
good helpmeet IN his colonial home.
British and Dutch ~colonists do not
find it so difficult to induce the fair
sex of their il homes to share their
lot in newer parts of the world; and
when they have found it really difficult
to get wives from the mother country
many of the Dutch in h East Indies
have o disdained to be joined in law
full wedlock with the daughters of the
natives.
Many white men r now living in
tropical regions, like equatorial Africa,
where they have really no right to ask
a white woman to share their dangers
and ha~rdships. Few women from the
north temperate one are able to sur
vive one or two collaborating expert
ences in tropical Africa. Some white
men who live there have expressed the
opinion hat it is little short of a crime
to bring women of their own. race to
those regions. The late DIR. Wolf, the
German explo-- said that any white
man there who wanted a wife should
marry one of the natives of the coun-
try. Some of the Europeans in Africa
have followed hin advice. and among
them DIR. Grenfell, the explorer and
missionary, who married a negro girl
who had pee.. educated at q mission sta
ton IN the we coast.
Two months ago the Canadian news
papers contained an advertisement
from . mining camp in British CO.
lumbia in which il was announced that
the camp was wholly destitute of
women, that neither gambling nor the
sale of intoxicating liquors was per-
mitted in the settlement, that the MINI
ers were industrious, had saved money,
and now they wanted wives and homes;
and young women of the dominion
were invited to enter into correspond
cnce with a committee as preliminary
to possible immigration to the camp
and marriage with the bachelors there
of.
The scheme IL - 10 be commended.
Each miner had better use some of the
money he has saved to visit o district
where women are plentiful. II he is
vince some damsel that she con be
happy even in q miners cabin in the
far northwest i
Even to-day, in large parts of Canada.
Australia and Cape Colony, there are
not women enough to supply the de-
mand o wives. But when the societies
that promote the emigration OF women
to the colonies send out q party, the
last thing in their minds. apparently,
il h better chance these women will
have to get husbands. They simply
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