The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-09-23
Men and Women
in Street Cars

'Why is it women are so stupid in
street cars?" asked a cross old bach
elor the other day. They spread
their skirts over two seats. refuse to
move up and get mad if man looks
at them, and madden if he doesn't"
Well, that will do for you. Mr..
Bachelor. But then what can you ex-
pect from so misguided a creature?
He looks only for faults in women and
passes over the particularly stupid
things that men do in cars and other
places. He fOrgets that every night
Of the world long suffering women
are climbed over and their feet trOd-
den upon by men who so out between
| the acts at theaters; he fOrgets, too,
how often tired women stand up for
miles in the cars. while some of these
weary bachelors sit still. How a man
can enjoy a seat in the car when a
woman stands beside him in the aisle
clutching the back of his seat and
trying hard to think that he is a gen.
tleman, but a very tired one, is be-
yond the comprehension OF the wOm-
ans department. II the bachelor
thinks that women are stupid in cars.
what does he think of some men IN
cars? Those who will rise with alac-
rity for a pretty girl and let tired
washwoman with a bundle stand II
he knew the whitening contempt that
some OF the girls feel for him it might
open his eyes.
Yes. women are stupid sometimes.
but then men cannot corner all the
stupidity in the world. A great many
men give women their seats, but many
do not; in fact, some women have
gone into business with such vigor
they are obliged to take their chances
with them in many other ways. which
is fair enough. But the bachelor
evinces a strange fatuousness IL he
thinks that a woman cares IL he
doesn't look at her. 1t would be i'm
possible for him to believe that there
are women utterly indifferent whether
he looks at them or not. Bachelors
who are or consider themselves eligi-
bic come to think that the entire fem
mine world is managed in relation to
them, while as a matter OF fact there
is a day now and then when they are
not thought OF all day long. Funny,
isn't II, you cross old bachelor?
But to admit the stupidity OF some
women in cars is not to agree with
this masculine grumbler by any
means For one can see women evince
intelligence about seats almost every
day, and the writer not long ago saw
a young woman rise and give her seat
to a mani He was old and i'll and he
thanked her very nicely and then, OF
course. all the young men in the car
who had sat still when the man got
in wanted her to sit down. But she
thanked them and said she did not
mind standing at all.
Then the other day there was a
man who sat sidewise on the long seat
/ of a Selby car. taking up twice as
much room as II he had sat straight,
/ his head was buried in his paper and
what cared he how many tired wom-
en- stood? But finally a woman had
the courage to ask him to move up;
he grunted disagreeably and did so
Grossly. I wonder if he could have
been the bachelor who uttered the
above plant about stupid women. I
should not be the least bit surprised
If he was the very man. He is Just
the sort of creature who would say
| things like that and be occupying two
seats while he said 1t.
The greatest fault to be found with
women is that they appear to have a
prejudice against moving up or down
as the case may be. You will see
three sit huddled together with a wide
open space just the other side Of
them. But as a rule their behavior
in cars IS much more creditable than
that OF men-so there Mr. BacheIorI
st Paul Globe.