Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-08
PLEA FOR THE HOME WOMAN
PROFESSIONAL CAREER" NOT
ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS.
Beauty and Happiness in the Wifely
Virtues of Cooking and Sewing.
A Girls Views.

From the st. Louis Star.
A beautiful young woman has declared
that as a life work she had rather sew
and cook than take up a career" profess
sional or otherwise. That instead of doing
something accounted as really worth
WHILE" either in the literary. artistic or
commercial field, or even reducing the
gentle art of stunning to an exact
science. the latter endeavor having be-
come quite popular Of late years, she
would prefer just to excel in the homely
and wifely virtues of cooking and sew
ing.
Girls Are Queer Creatures.
Such young ladies must be accorded the
distinction given to things unusual or
anomalous, and are doubtless deserving
of real commentator. Perhaps she would
like to darn wooden socks by the kitchen
lamp or sew on buttons by the freight
1t is even possible that 1t would cause
her thrill of joy to FURNISH the metal
buttons and other trimmings adjoining
the habiliments of her lord and master,
who may be a city employee or lordly
Hercules, drawing the princely stipend of
ST. per, with prospects. And possibly she
may banker to prepare culinary delica-
cies or monstrosities, astronomical an
arches, as 1t were, as side diversion
and accompaniment to preparing a half
dozen young hopefuis for school, at tae
same time ministering to the modest
wishes of baby in arms.
One can never tell what point of the
compass a girls mind may turn to, es-
pecially a very pretty girl. When some
of the young Things" are just dying to
break into the political game, crowd the
lecture platform or pulpit. or do horse
shoe!ng or plumbing. 1t would certainly
not be the one best bet to say that in
a matinee bunch of a half dozen girls
even two of that number had decided
leanings for career in the kitchen or as
maids of all work. Most men, when think
ing seriously of marriage, contemplate
the idea of life partner who will at
least possess a sufficient degree of house
wifeiy instincts to enable them to have
a ''home" instead of caravan. and who
will not be a total stranger to the now
somewhat obsolete traits that caused
their grandparents to live happily to the
end of the journey.
The Home-Making Wife.
With the divorce mills grinding at a
futurity gait and with diabolical persist
ency, the discovery of factors potent in
their power to clog the wheels of this
modish and delectable industry gives JOY
and hope to the home lover. And as a
contributing cause in the preservation of
the home, nothing certainly yields great
er influence than that furnished by a do
mestic. home-loving, reasonable wire. Not
that the right sort of man wishes to
transform his wife into drudge or to cur
tail outside pleasures Of intellectual di-
versions. because he does not. And not
that divorces are solely and invariably
the outcome of the woman's frailties or
uselessness In the home. Men furnish
large share of the mily-destroying
germ.
The fact remains, however, and the be-
lief Is widespread and strong that the
home-making, demonstrating, contented
women. who love their husbands and
family, are the greatest preservers and
upbuilders of the family fireside and ene-
mics to the divorce court. And in this
respect it is refreshing to learn of a
young woman. even one. who boldly de-
clares a real preference for cooking
and sewing and other duties that the girl
with unsatisfied 'longings" for a public
career" would scorn as being mental.
Even though the girl who sews and cooks
for her husband and children may perpe-
trate wonderful pastry and sometimes get
a button In the wrong place, she is, never
theless, Of sterling value in the world.
and the pity is she is not more frequently
seen.