The Saint Paul globe., 1903-09-26

A st. Paul woman who is interested
In doing things, and who is literary,
artistic and musical, made the follow
ing plant to Marie the other day, and
any one who knows this town thor
oughly will agree with her:
What" said she sis the matter with
st. Paul? 1 have lived in New York
and Chicago, and have been about with
q literary set and a musical set, ana
have seen them encouraged and help
ed in every way, and have lived in st.
Paul for some time, and while l think
1t is the incest place I ever saw. 1t is
at the same time the most apathetic
in regard to helping women who do
things.
Take music for instance, or art or
literature. The people of st. Paul
seem to believe that unless a girl is
a stenographer or a trained nurse she
is not doing anything. To write stories
or to promote music or art is never
taken seriously as work by this COM
munity, but is regarded as a fad or
weakness.
'I know one girl who writes stories
and gets them published, and she says
that her literary work is like guilty
secret; that she is sure her friends
here think she is slightly touched in
the head. They never speak of it to
her, nor she to them. And the girl
Ask any girl in st. Paul who has made
art her work, what her experience is.
If her canyases were second Giottos
the inhabitants of this town would
simply sniff, and ten to one go to New
York or Paris and buy daubs.
while this is true Of many, many
places, is seems especially characteris-
tic of the Sanity city. Now take this
as an example. There have been for
two weeks past on exhibition in Min
neapOliS two canVaseS of Whistlers.
How many persons from st. Paul do
you suppose have been over to see
them? Possibly a dozen. Not long
ago a st. Paul girl had a story in a
prominent magazine and she told me
that not one human being mentioned 1t
to her, except to say that If she. work.
ed she probably could do better. An
other ST Paul girl had an article in one
of the most prominent literary maga-
zines in the country, and the only local
notice she received was from a st.
Paul paper which copied a roast of
that particular magazine, including
Scathing criticism of her article, from
a Chicago paper.
when it comes to local musicians
the condition is a little better. They
sometimes receive praise from their
friends and from the local papers, and
yet there is much jealousy and bick-
ering among some of the musical col
ony. Any one who has lived in this
city and tried to do things. knows
what I say is true. The inhabitants
can understand a woman who pounds
a typewriter all day long; that is
something tangible; but if she desires
to write or sing or paint she is re-
garded as a freak, and her friends hope
she will come to her senses some day.
81 would suggest that the women
and girls of st. Paul who do things in
the way of literary, musical or artistic
work, come together and form an asso-
citation and encourage each other, for
there is mighty little encouragement
or appreciation outside for them.
CAS- predicted the other day we have
received a letter from an indignant
masculine person who tries to demolish
Marie because she dared to say things
about domesticity. He will be attend
ed to the first of the week..