The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-11-08
MRS. SAGE REBUKEs WOMEN
Those of Leisure Class Indulge il
Gaming to Alarmeing Extent,
She Says-Also appalling
Drinking.

New York, November 1-"There is
an immense amount Of feminine tai
ent and energy wasted in the world
; every day. This is not due to the in
difference OR the laziness of woman
for she is eager to do, to accomplish,
to go out into the field Of life and
achieve for herself and for her kind.
But she simply does not know how.
One Of the most important move
ments Of the day, therefore is the re-
awakening of woman, the building
her up on a new basis Of self-help
and work for others. That move
tment will set lose an amount Of en-
Iergy and talent that will revolution
ize our social life"
Thus writes Mrs. Russell Sage in
the November North American Re-
view in an article on Opportunities
land Responsibilities Of Leisured Wo-
men, which is here quoted by per-
mission.
"It is absurd" Mrs Sage says, Ito
suggest that women who have tall
ent for music or literature or arr
should he enslaved by domestic
drudgery, while the struggle for the
civilization of the world is going on
The writer thinks selfshness and
|idleness great sources of danger. She
thinks women's laxity toward drink
ing and smoking is injurious. AT a
dinner she recently attended she says,
"it was put to a vote whether or not
smoking should be INDUCED in. The
ladies present, not wishing to be OBJ
noxious, voted Yes I being the only
one that voted No The result was
that the men INDUCED their love for
tobacco to the discomfort of almost
all the women present and the nausea
of some of them. This sort Of thing
is remotely responsible for the cigar
ette-smoking habit among reputable
young women. They indulge in order
to affiliate with young men and, be
considered good fellows
Women Hard Drinkers.
Drinking is INDUCED in to an ap-
palling extent by women of the
wealthy idle class, and their daugh-
tiers are following in their footsteps.
The great danger of this is that the
idle rich class influences the succeed
| ing strata Of society. This class is
surrounded with certain glamour
that those not SO high up in the So
called social scale mistake for some
thing genuine, but which is the ver-
lest sham. Bear in mind that I refer
to no set or clique, but to- a condi-
ton manifested in all parts Of the
lcountry. Now, the persons Of this
class are widely initiated. If they
drink it is considered smart to do So
and others follow suit. If they smoke
cigarettes other girls do the same"
Mrs. Sage denounces gambling as
one of the inevitable concomitants
Of idle extravagant life" She tells of
hostesses politely bullying men into
games Of poker or bridge whist and
making them pay dearly. She adds:
1.-The trouble is that the wives Of
many women in this class squander in
gambling and other forms Of dissipa-
patton the money their husbands give
them for household expenses, and are
compelled to resort to just such
measures to make up the deficit, lest
their husbands find out the true state
of affairs and adopt drastic measures
to correct them.
weekend parties have bridge
whist as sole purpose. Rooms are
hired and furnished, in all parts Of
New York city, by fashionable young
women, who do nothing but gamble
there. I was sitting in my carriage
|
friend Of whom / am fond, walking
up the avenue, 1 invited her to drive
with me. But she waved her hand
and exclaimed, I can't today, I've
been losing at euchre, and now am
going to make it up at bridge and
she hurried on
''The idle rich are no more vicious
than the idle poor, but they are much
more lacking in sympathy with one
another"
Work for the Leisure Class.
Mrs. Sage recommends women of
leisure to apply themselves to mis-
sionary work in improving towns and
villagers. She suggests:
I'm our great cities many women
are necessarily lonely or are forced
into vicious society. And this loneli-
ness is not ameliorated by attending
| !, arta in, ontc SC