The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-08-31
WHY WOMEN GET
OFF CARS BACKWARD

ada c. Sweet, in Chicago Journal)
Another man has been writing upon
the favorite cOnundrum, why wo-
men get off cars Backward" Like the
innumerablc caravan of preceding
writers upon the same question. this
one gives it up" and guesses, among
pther things, that it is because woman
is at heart an anarchist, that she con-
Eistently breaks the rule made by man
and necessity-Jhat in getting down
from a car one should face forward.
and grasp the rail with the left hand.
Of support is needed.
And then it is concluded that, after
all, women are mysteries past finding
out, and it is ventured that the back
ward movement will be executed by
them world without end, but with no
reason appreciate or discernible by
man.
Now, / wish to remark. and my Ian
guage viii, 1 hope, be plain, that there
is good reason, and reaching far back
in creation, why women get off of cars
On what 1 concede is a dangerous man
ner.
Our street cars are all made so that
passengers leave them from their right
side. Women carry their belongings,
purse, handbag, umbrella, packages or
children in their left hands, or arms,
almost universally. They have carried
their babies on their left arms since
the world began. Notice any mother
carrying her child, and you will see
her with the infant on her left arm. So
Eve carried the little Cain and Abel.
With her left arm, her right free to
protect her youngling, the aboriginal
mother held her child. In her ages of
toll and slavery, she slung the baby
over her left shoulder, or upon her
back, and worked, so, with both hands
Among hard-working folk today you
can see a mother with her baby on
her left arm, at work with her right
cooking, sewing, ironing.
Instinct is the Unborn inheritance
from ages gone. The woman of today
instinctively carries by her left hand
and arm and grasps for support, holds
on. or defends herself by her right
hand and arm. She does not think of
getting off cars backward" but she
takes hold of the right-hand rail as she
leaves the car, and so faces the side
walk. or looks and steps backward"
and falls, unless the car has come
10 full stop, as it ought to do before
any woman leaves it.
If it takes as many years for wo-
man to unlearn as it did for her to
learn the right-hand habit, the out
look is decidedly bad.
Possibly in some back-to-nature
movement of the future, Americans
viii adopt the fashion Of some Euro
pean countries and make the exits
from public vehicles on the left side.
Then women will be all right each tri-
Umphantly placing her right hand on
the rail and springing off the car look
ing forward.
And this is more likely to happen
than that all women viii learn to take
their babies and bundles into their
right hands and arms before leaving
car, and then with the left hand on
the rail, looking forward get off as
men do. and as everybody ought to
DO, under present conditions.
1t takes a long time to educate ma
ture out of any one. 1t is a dangerous
practice getting off of cars back
ward" but don't let US make a mys-
terry Of it. Women's garments all are
made to button or hook over from the
right. Their care Of their children and
all their work is planned right-handed.
That is the secret of the street car
riddle