The evening world., 1910-12-16
briousiy among the lower classes"

brtously among the lower claosss'"
1t has seemed OF late that there Is
not a new suffrage argument under
the sun, but there at least Is n from
under the sunny coronet OF Mrs.
Philip Snowden, the English suf-
fragist. who Is sailing back to her
own country tomorrow.
Mrs. Snowden's reference to old
maids was incidental to some re.
marks on "the atmosphere Of the old
Colonial scarcity Of women in which
she declared at a public meeting the
other night American women are still
living.
Women are still relatively scarce
In America, and, like any other rare
product, are correspondingly valued"
the blond Mrs. Snowden observed
yesterday afternoon.
mo one who has not lived In both
England and America can appreciate
the difference In the masculine attitude
toward women in the two countries.
Foreign View Of Woman.
"Ths Englishman, even the sdu-
GATED Engiishman, still regards the
women OF his family az his belong
ings. II an E~nglishman's wife or
daughter expresses an opinion on
any subject under discussion he
nay take IL t%oisrantly, but not
seriously. Men and ONE are not
comrades in England ~ they are
here, In svsry way except politi-
cally. Your men are proud OF you
women, your women are proud Of
your men. And American men are
70 ohivalxous in their attitude to-
ward their wives and toward mi
sex in general that I believe the
apathy Of the women 10 largely re-
sponsibls for fact that they are
not allowed to vote.
1T is true that II a majority OF your
women. or eHen a considerable number
OF them. were to demand the vote as
feverishly as the women in England
nave demanded It. the men would give
1t to them. In fact. SO much fervor
would not be necessary. Women are
cheap in England-very cheap-because
they have outnumbered the men for so
long and the struggle to get a husband
which. till recently. seemed a necessary
commodity. has been very stiff. To get
husbands women have felt It necessary
though in my opinion 1t never has
been soto stoop to certain things
which have given the men a contempt
for them. 1t is the Nemesis OF the
women Of England that this should
be 80.
Once "Old Maid" at Twenty-one.
T get married. seemed the only hon
orable thing for a woman until very
recently" Mrs. Snowden continued. Il
was brought W in an English watering
place and / can remember that when |
was barely twenty-one and 1t had not
been rumored that / was engaged to
any one. people spoke of me as on the
shelf"
/ was interested to observe that 1t
seemed to amuse this young matIon OF
twenty-eight hat at twenty-one she
had been called an "old maid"
1.-THE suffrage movement has glo-
rihed spinsterhood," Mrs. Snow
den added. Educated men no long
or dare to use the phrase old
maid' as q term Of opprobrium, and
even among h ignorant 1t ~ not
applied until q II unmarried woman
crosses the Rubioon Of thirty.
Here In America where the old
chivalrous spirit survives I have
never heard It used. But then, asI
said O while age, there 10 an eco-
nomic reason back OF the Amert-
cna's high estimate OF women
they are scarce here.
They are scarcer In the West than In
the Eas., and | thinli | have observed
"a correspond ngly create value placed
upon them in the West. All the sut-
frage STAGES are Western and tAert
seems to he u greater difference toWard
the wumen in the Western than In
the Eastern man.
American Women Selfish.
But the American man whole view
OF woManklnd Is so different from
that OF even the highly educated Euro
pean that 1t really takes an English
woman to appreciate II. Some of your
women have seemed to me Just the
least bit selfish toward their men. They
have not seemed to appreciate thei. ad-
yantages as ;hey might. and they have
not concentrated their power to obtain
what they want.
IT have met YOU finest women
not only your suffragists, but your
college aad literary women. Most
OF them want tho vote, but they
want n great many other things.
Even the s~uffragists often belong
to four or five clnbs and are In
tsrested in half q dozen reforms
or charities. In England we have
learned to concentrate all u
thoughts and energies upon the
one thing--the vote.
III your women were to exercise hal
the influence which has been exc te,
in England they would get the ballo
before We do. For you are still pres
cious possessions to your men, Their,