Evening star., 1901-11-02
son FOR 1T


aH observant Washington woman. why
1t is that the generality of New York men
treat women with such Indifferent public
courtesy. New York women. you'll remem-
Der. have been complaining of that for
a number of years. and visitors In New
York are bound to note how coolly the men
ignore the kirtled sex in public places.
have been studying this situation during
two months visit in New York from
which I have just returned. am now
convinced that the New York women them
selves are wholly to blame for the care
less attitude Of the men toward them. The
public manners of New York women are
almost grotesqueiy mean and churlish-
They display seifishness in its smallest re-
fnement everywhere they go. They eX-
hibft no respect whatever for the most
ordinary tenets of civility. One would
actually be justified in presuming, from
their public conduct. that the women of
New York positively despise all of their
partment stores in each others faces with
singular impartialty. They squeeze past
each other In elevators and street and
elevated cars, trampling on toes and dis
arranging garments. with never so much
as a breath Of apology. In their public
treatment Of each other they violate the
most fundamental rules of good or even
decent breeding with no obvious COM
junction. I could multiply instances to
prove this that came under my own OBJ
servation-some of them, indeed, in which
was the more or less complaisant victim.
For example, l went to department
store a couple of weeks ago to look over
a remnant sale Of silks. There was one
piece of silk on counter that looked IKE
such a bargain that l decided to take 1t.
l was examining the fabric waiting for
a chance to hand it over to the saleswoman
to have it wrapped up. when woman who
was standing beside me touched my arm
That is so pretty, she said, pointing
to the piece Of goods. May look at it?
"She was a good-looking young woman,
well dressed and Of apparent refinement.
AS a matter OF course, l handed the piece
of silk to her to examine.
'She took It and then she deliberately
handed it over to the saleswoman who
came up to her just then and said:
"sIll take this
II was SO stunned that 1 couldn't emit
word of protest. When the full force of
the woman's brazen effrontery percolated
through my mind essayed to give vent to
word OF protest, but l was so utterly
habbergasted that the words refused to
come out, and could only gurgle ineffect-
lively in my throat. The saleswoman had
the package Of silk wrapped up and the
woman grabbed 1t out Of her hand and
marched by me. shooting me a look of tri-
umph out OF her eyes as she went. l was
so shaky over this extraordinary perform
ance that had to plump myself onto one
of the counter stools and rest bit Iefore
going on.
ION the same day dropped into another
shop to look over a sale of silk waists. L
never got within better than ten feet of the
counter on which the waists were neaped.
The crush of pushing, elbowing, storming
women around that counter was like moth
ing so much on earth as riot of squirm-
ing, painting men around the ticket wagon
of circus. The performance was SO star
Ting that I mounted a nearby stairway to
take it In for while. Time after time
saw two women get their talons on one waist
at one and the same time and then the
way they would hiss and glare at each
other and tug at their respective ends of
the disputed waist would have been anus
ing had it not been so humliating for the
honor, not to say the merest decency, Of
woman l saw two women grab at one
waist, each getting a clutch on one of the
sleeves. They declined to yield to each
other and tugged away at their respective
sleeves, while both Of them protested shril-
ly that they had been the first to pick Up
the waist. They reminded me of a pair OF
nest-building magpies quarreling over the
possession Of bit of string. Their faces
were close together during the heated
colloquy that l actually thought they we're
going to bite each other. They didn't do
this, however, but each hung on desperately
to her sleeve, and finally each endeavored
to yank the garment out of the others
possession at the same instant. There as
ripping sound as both of the sleeves
parted from the waist. Then the women
simultaneously relaxed their grip upon the
waist. They backed out Of the melee
around the counter before a saleswoman
had time to come up, both accusing the
other of having maliciously torn the waist
so that the other couldn't purchase it.
About three weeks ago l went down.
town early one morning to take my place
in line to get seats for the opening per-
formance Of famous English actor. The
line in front of the box Office was very
long. 1t seemed to be composed almost en-
tirely of men who looked as If they had
n1a af hr1G n a fn hllf low
| were good-natured over the slow advance
of the line A few women were scattered
through the line and lot of messenger
boys who had been delegated to get seats
1t was about an hour and a half before
got within the doors Of the theater with
the line, and then I saw why 1t was that
progress had been so slow. Inconsiderate
perfectly selfish women were rou-frouing
| into the lobby, without ever dreaming Of
| taking their places in line. strutting delib-
erately up to the box Office window. haueh-
tily edging the rightful applicants for tick
cts out of the way, pushing their money
toward the ticket seller and demanding
seats. The ticket seller, Of course, didn't
care a particle who got the seats, and here
| the outrage-it was nothing else-had been
| going on all the morning, and with every
| prospect of going on until the close of the
| sale of seats It made my blood boil to see
| this constantly repeated performance, espe-
cially as l had been patiently standing In
| line so long, and 1t made the men in line
pretty hot, too, I could see, for 1t was
plain to perceive that they were men with
affairs to attend to. and that they were
| losing time and money through the actions
| of these completely selfish women / was
perfectly delighted when one Of the men
| finally made a stand. He was entirely civil
| about 1t and gentlemanly, but there was
| an effectual ring of wrath in his tone.
"I think it only fair said he, after three
| women, one after another, had crowded in
and got their seats in advance of those in
| the line, to protest against this sort of
| thing. If this method of obtaining seats
| is permitted to continue, where is the use
of anybody taking place in the line? The
person in front Of the line should absolutely
| and resolutely decline to yield his position
| to anybody.
There was a ringing cheer from those
| in the line, and you may be sure that
| Joined in 1t. Half dozen women who were
waiting at the box office window to squeeze
| in In advance Of the line scowled at the
man who had protested and made audible
cutting remarks about Doors and all that,
but they didn't essay to crowd in front Of
the line any more.
"Now, men observe this-shall I call 1t
cattish-conduct on the part of women,
and 1t hardens them against the sex. Wom-
en- may fancy that men are not observant
in these matters, but they are mistaken.
am no longer surprised that New York men
treat their women folks IL they, too,
cl,f ncrtn