The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-13

New York. August 12-5Special.)-O course the great event in society of re- cent days is the announcement that sCol. John Jacob Astor is to wed Miss Madeline Talmage Force of this city a young girl Of IS.
 While the intimate friends of Colonel Astor knew he had been paying marked attention to the beautiful young school girl the announcement of the engage ment came as distinct surprise to so- ciety at large In fact, there recently have been renewals of the report that the coloners children, Vincent and Alice. had almost brought about a reconciliation with Colonel Astors former wife, Mrs. Ava William Astor
 Just when the marriage is to take place nns not been settled yet, but it probably will be soleinnized late in the fall.
 Miss Force is one of the most beauti- fui girls in this city of beautiful girls Sic is an expert dancer and has dis tinguished herself in amateur theatrieals.
 Mrs E. H. Harrimans action in turning over to the bureau of municipal research for investigation the hundreds of begging letters she receives, calls attention to the very serious proposition, this matter of appealing to the rich for assistance has reached. It is estimated that full 5o00W begging letters are received every year for the millionaire men and women of New york. Mrs. Hartman. Miss Helen Gould Mrs. Marshall Field. .Jr., and Miss A1ne Morgan lead the list of the targets for rnendeeancy. but there is not a woman whose name appears with any frequency in the society column who does not get her st are.
 Mrs. Charlotte M. Poole broke all rules and discipline aboard the steamship Oceana during a recent trip from Der n,uda- For the first known time a wom- an went into the .stokehold and shoveled coai into therfurnace.
 IT came about through a dare and the feet that Mrs. Poole is an ardent suffra- ge-.s. She was the most popular widow aboard. al.d when discussion was start ed by some other passengers about the thinss that woman should do, Mrs. Poole deciaredl that she could do anything
 Probably take a turn in the fireroom, ' suggested one passenger, sarcastically.
 Certainly I can," was the retort. q can stoke this ship, and I'll show you l can do it as well as any man they've got down there.'
 
 tained some old clothes and then climbed down tl,ree long tiers of iron ladders into the fireroom. Chief Engineer Lorenz gave her shovel and she dug into the coal heap.as though she was digging sand on beach.
 She worked wei land hard for 9 minutes and was then helped up on deck for breath of fresh air. She had stayed be- low longer than the stokers themselves do If was the heat that tired her most, she said, but she was willing 10 do it over again.
 This is simply another, instance of the uriversality of the. talents of women
 Women, have purchased aer6planes. and are navigating the air with the skill and courage of men A young girl recently swan across the Hudson river because bo.- friend had accomplished the feat, and she proposed to demonstrate her own at,'ty. At Newport the swimming rec ords have been eclipsed by women.
 At this rate 1t ~l rot be long be- fore the equality of the sexes will be fully demonstrated. Already we have female baseball clubs in this country and though they are more or less freakish, there are well-authenticated reports of effective pitchers among the feminine sex4 In colleges the wo-I men are valuable members of the fac- ulty; In business many of them are following the successful footsteps of Hetty Green; there are many good wo- men lawyers and preachers In fact there is hardly a position in which women has not already been placed with credit, to themselves. This may. of itself, solve the suffrage question and all the other problems.
 Miss Margaret Rutherford. daughter of Mrs William K. Vanderbilt of New York and MT. Odgen L. Mills, will. according to plans now discussed at Newport, be married in September. The ceremony will take place at the Vanderbilt home in France Mir and Mrs. Mills will return to Enrnne with