The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-09-19
MEN HAVE SPOILED AMERICAN WOMAN IS
 MRS. BELMONT'S IDEA

'.The American woman has been spelled by men," sighed Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont yesterday afternoon from the depths of her official chair at the Fifth Avenue suffrage headquarters in New York. "She has been petted and pampered and treated a toy Jewels and clothes and luxuries of all sorts have been lavished upon her and practically nothing has been expected of her in return.
 The result is That although na- turally keen and clever she has be7 come an idle,[irresponsib1e creature, capable of accomplishing good work | in the world but ignorant of how to set about it. She knows little or nothing of household economy, and hnancial affairs are a sealed book to her.
 Now the English woman is a very customed to. a certain definite allow ance on which to run the house and to another for her clothes and per amount of heF husbands income, and with it. She understands politics. why she wants to vote. She under stands the power and value of or. ganization. All classes of English woman stick together.
 That is something," continued
 Mrs. Belmont fervently, "that Ameri- can women must learn to do before
 
 economic. equality with men. Child fsh differences and petty Jea1ousies must be subordinated to the great ness of the cause for which we are
 Her listeners wanted to know what plans had developed out of Mrs. Bel mont's conference with. Mrs. Clarence
 Why had a long talk with Mrs. Mackay, she said, "but didn't say much about suffrage As nearly I nT her we fo1 1Iy yo6 1ac+ of the time about clotbes. You know, we do. have to think of them some times"
 Those present regarded the chiffon cloth costume of the speaker and the gray willow plume on her picture hat with w1stfu1 admiration and breathed assent.
 But they are a great deal of trou- ble, went on Mrs. Belmont. My lug gage was put over in the second class B's by mistake instead of the first class and my people had an awful time finding it. Then although I had carefully declared everything bought abroad those customs officials insist ed on taking everything out of>@ my trunks. They even opened the pack ages of gloves to see whether there might not be fourteen pair instead of twelve. My maid was very particular to put my new things in trunks by themselves, but those men unpacked all the others too. I'm sure I don't had declared everything. If they're not going to believe you why do they require you to take an oath? Why it was nearly midnight when I got my trunks! As for poor Miss Mil holland, she was detained on the pier until after Il o'clock. For some req son or other they wouldn't let her come in as a nonresident although she has always done so before
 .'You haven't told them about the fair. said Mrs. Ida Hustedi Harper at this point
 well, I will,'' said Mrs. Belmont. t'for am tremendously interested in immediately. The fair she contin- ued, ''is to be held in this city in De- 'cember under the the auspices of the State Suffrage Association, and the executive committee. Miss Anne Morgan has promised to help and so has Miss Elizabeth AfarburX who has always been Known as an anti-suf- fragist. Mime. Nordica has agreed to take charge of musical afternoon. We haven't decided upon the hall perhaps we shall take Madison Square Garden. Every suffrage organization in the State will be represented and we hope to make considerable money.
 eve suffragists must put our shoul- ders to the wheel and not think so much about being 1adylike,'' she went on t'When I distributed literature at a. big meeting in Trafalgar Square found women of title doing the same thing side by side with factory girls. A young English woman of great wealth and noble family drives an automobile in 4ondon for the cause. become the chauffeur of the suffrage delivery wagon. She does not lose caste by this work, and her aid to the suffrage cause is worth twice what an anonymous gift of money would be.