The Washington herald., 1910-05-09
THE MODERN GIRL IS PRUDENT.
This Is One Reason why She Hesi>
fates tn Marry.

IN the belief OF a New YORK business
man the problem in cities of how to meet
the increased cost Of living hits the hard
est the people who are fairly well edu-
Gated. including artists. clerks, and the
average run of professional men, with
young lawyers In the lead. Similarly
an ardent suffragist declared that there
has been falling off of late in the num-
Der OF marriages OF women Of good edu-
cation, and that it is directly attribut-
able 10 the increased cost Of living and
not to a drop IN sentiment or a lessening
regard for the marriage tie, says the
New York sun
This woman bristled at the mere sug-
gestion that the large number OF single
self-supportng women enrolled under the
equal suffrage banner indicated a dis
taste FOR matrimony.
The presence Of so many unmarried
women at equal suffrage meetings" she
said, indicate merely among other things
that ths present economic conditions have
not been favorable 10 matrimony among
thinking. educated women fairly well
equipped 10 earn their own living.
/ Fortunately or unfortunately, accord
/ ing TO your point Of view, economic ques-
tions interfere very little II at all with
the matrimonial plans Of the uneducated.
/ the nonthinking class. Nowadays a wo-
man with a good working knowledge OF
arithmauc and mind enough 70 use il
. is apt TO DO some figuring before under
/ taking 20 stretch a small income 70 cover
I
sons, and the result Of her figuring If she
/ is ambitious is likely TO keep her out OF
matrimony.
/ she may be romantic without alto
gethe- forgetting The fact that landlords
Pand merchants usually do business on a
I cash basis This IS true al least Of the
I New York women OF this class. In rural
/ places 1t may he different
"OId-tashioned persons often have an
/ eXasporating way Of telling about the
small incomes on which our grandmOthers
managed 20 bring up a large family.
/ forgetting that relatively these incomes
were larger than the incomes OF women
OF the same social class have to-day
"With rents and foodprices continuing
I 20 rise Of course the number OF bachelor
! women Is increasing fast and II is women
\ of the sort / have in mind rather than
men who are the least inclined these days
20 hazard marimony or what they con-
slider a TOO small income"
/ Concerning the relative size Of the in
| comes Of a couple Of generations ago and
/ those OF to-day the business man referred
Z 4
the case correctly, particularly as re-
/ CARDS dry goods clerks and sa'esmcn,
whose increase of pay has not kept pace
WIKI that OF mechanics.
| Generally speaking" said nc, whole
sale and retail dry goods men are paid
about = per cent more 10 day than forty
! years ago, whereas carpenters. painters
plumbers. briekayers. stOnemasons. and
/ others Eot pretty nearly - per cen. more.
/ SupposlnE they have steady work. the
latter are the class Of the community
least Of all affected by the higher cost Of
living, the price Of their WORK having
kept pace with the advanced price OF
food and higher rents.
This Is one reason why so few prom
isinG young men now want TO learn the
dry goods business, which more and mole
every year is passing into the hands of
women one OF these days, I prcdict,
there VIII practically be nothing but
women clerks in the retail dry goods
business.
Suppose that to-day young man
gets N5J a year for selling goods as
against 500 paid for the same work
thirty-odd years ago. The increased pay
is offset by the rise in price of board in
the same time. which IN fairly good
place 10 quote bottom prices, is ab0u,
50 per cent. When 1 was a young ran
clerks could board Tor s. a week more
comfortably than they now can for s.
a week have better food and more Of g.
which meant that they had a better
chance 10 save money 10 get married, tc
put away a neat sum % draw ON FOR
emergencies. besides hting UP hOusekeep-
ing quarters. In those DAYS the newly
married always went 20 housekeeping Il
they didn't live with the old folks. To
meet a bride and bridegroom in q board
house was unusual.
AT the time 7 speak Of young pro-
fcsslonal men were relatively better -.
than row. in this city AT least because
there were fewer OF -hom relatively. con-
sideriug even the great difference in pOpu-
lation. This IS true more especially ot
lawyers. who are now graduated by hun
dreds every year. AMI whose services arc
not apt 20 be in as great demand as those
,of young doctors. which IS not saying a
great deal for the young doctors. either
The average young lawyer in practice
less than half a dozen years doesn't often
earn more than n good dry goods clerk
earns. Sometimes his income is less"
THAT statement Is perfectly true" re-
marked the wife Of a lawyer who now
has a large and lucrative practice when
we were married twenty-five years ago
my husband was not certain Of more
than $500 a year Ny friends thought
me fOolhardy. and very likely I might not
have ventured had I not had a big,
healthy, generous father who was max
ing something more than a bare living
for his family and who I knew would
stand by us IL we got into financial trou-
bic.
"As it turned out, my husband was OF
the kind that forges right ahead and we
never needed my fathers help. but not
every lawyer does forge right ahead.
For years many a young lawyer and his
wife have to scrinp and economize and
count every dollar, particularly II they
move In good society.
I can understand perfectly why the
sort of girl a young lawyer IS likely 70
want for a wife SHES at essaying matri-
mOny on a small, uncertain income with
hving prices at a point undreamed OF
when l was a young girl and the stand
ards Of entertaining requiring a keeping