The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-28
FROM WOMARS
POINT OF VIEW

4 business education IS right enough TOT
girl who is expected 10 earn her own
living. but d common school foundation =
more important. To be able 10 talk half
way correctly and write letter that viii
bear inspection are important factors in
any girls future and il one Of the class
is averse 70 school it is plainly the duty
Of parents % see that she is started right
al least
Last summer I met a girl OF sixteen,
the daughter OF man whose income per
mits almost any kind of luxury. The girl
was Iight-hearted and rafba- pretty, but
a distinct shock when she began 10 talk
With the usual girlish stock Of slang
she treated me 10 q wonderful sample Of
English as il should not be spoken
Simple words were mispUOnOunCed and
her sentences were WarvelOuSly con-
sJructed. / learned that the girl had
distaste for study such as Is found ia
school, and her dotinS parents bad al
lowed her 90 arrange her life 20 suit her
self. She had begun 10 study music. but
would not practice. because she had
friend who played by ear and she was
trying to initiate her.
The music was dropped with lessons al
school. and the girl is now ut business
college. ] presume she IS sufficiently
clever TO advance TO the point OF earning
) a living but she viii be a horror TO
educated persons OF botn sexes Some
day she may wish to rise above the class
20 which she now belongs. the veil
/ meaning, prosperous, but illiterate class
which finds no pleasure in good reading
high-class music and refined living Man
or woman without education missed q
deal in life. and Il seems pity thai chill
! Gren who can have educational advantages
should not be forced 70 accept them Chill
: dren are not good judges OF what IS best
for them
An abundance Of money is for the few.
+ but there are compensatiOns for its lack.
( There are simple pleasures which cost
next 10 nothing. thousands Of free books,
/ free art exhibits and good music. some
times. which can be heard without money.
There are nice ways OF living that give
satisfaction TO weIl-bred men and women.
I once knew a college professor who with
his daughter. lived the simplest kind Ct
/ an existence in order 10 save for &C.
casioHal travelling. I never saw a hap
/ pier pair; and they had so little Of what
ordinary mortais believe TO be necessary
10 happiness.
The other evening two youths faced
me in street car which was conveying
me to the theater- one was host for the
/ occasion, and his pride in the position
was evident. They talked on various
subjects always from the viewpoint Of
the growing boy, but not silly idea was
advanced IN the twenty-minute ride, and
I heard the entire conversation The
boys were middIe-eIass. 1 judged. mostly
because they boarded the car in a hum
bic neighborheod. but they were neat in
every particular Of dress and very we'll
hammered Careful mothers had superin-
tended the daily life Of those boys. and
\ they were credit 10 their training Il
is fascinating 20 watch such children.
was told BY the mother Of a boy who had
blasted her hopes by refusing college life
and begging 10 20 into his fathers fac
tory that after two years OF hard work
his father did not spare him-he had ex-
expressed a desire 10 study first, Ian
guages, then Business methods. He has
Weakened 10 a realization Of the impor-
lance OF education in time to make VI
his deficiencies. so no great harm wa.
done. BETTY BRADEEN.