The Washington herald., 1912-11-28

rage? Yes, but II is as the flower en-
tees the insect that visits II. simply
because Il is the very nature Of life to
do so. They entice because OF the fact
that they are healthy normal girls, but
the enticement loses its charm the mo-
ment that the owner sullies its purity
by a conscious direction. Abnormal
cases and abnormal individuals there.
but such abnormality is as apt to defeat
as to triumph.
Nor do l think that the American
mother is often negligent in her re-
Cuirements of the man with whom the
future happiness of her daughter is con-
fided. America is rich and her wealth
is reflected in a normal Independence un-
known abroad. The marriage Of econ
omy has found little place in any phase
Of social life in this country. AS a con-
sequence American mothers are seldom
dominated by the conception that their
daughters must be married at any price.
And, after all. they are mothers, with a
mothers instinct, moreover a mothers
instinct unfettered by conditions. They
are much more apt to have misgivings
Of the best man on earth than they are
to trust their daughter to the first conner
Misguided individuals are common. but
as a rule. the. normal American girls
has a normal American mother.
AUGUSTA HARLAN.
ISIS Clifton Street Northwest.
Asserts MntrImOny Not n Trade.
BY way of contribution to your dis
cussion Of George Bernard Shaw's Man
and Superman,'' one person is willing to
indorse all his attasks upon "shams''-
not merely society shams, but shams in
business, politics, and all other phases
of our modern civilization. Mr.. Shaw is
cur magic mirror" which, like the one
in Hawthorne's 'tale, showed to every
one who looked therein, his real self. He
is the man who made himself unpopular
IN this country by declining to visit our
shores because he said the sight of the
Statue of Liberty in our harbor would
be too much for even his sense of irony,
However. we should be broad-mInded
enough to welcome criticism from brainy
people. Sham, Of all sorts. is the menace
o: modern institutions: let Mr.. Shaw go
on swatting them. We can combat all
evils with substance; but sham is the
slipping OF the solid earth from be-
meath the feet.
As for the second subject for discus
sion, regarding American girls as hus-
band-hunters, according to nv recoI-
lection OF the play, Shaw's criticisms
were aimed at English society, But.
generally speaking, matrimony is hardly
tn be discussed as a profession or
trade; a girl should not be SUD-
posed to marry for a living. Matri-
mony is an attraction, generally
mutual; and. for all this is a cold
blooded, commercial age, yet, the actual
fact appears TO be that the majority of
young men and girls marry simply and
sciely because they fall in love, with
no question Of expediency. or even mu-
tuai Illness Youth is romantic, and you
cart make anything else out Of II.
And, as for the third proposition. re-
garding the mothers duty with respect
TO passing on the imerits of her nros-
pectiVe son-in-law, it does appear rather
beyond the limit of the average woman's
ebillty to foresee what sort OF hushgnd
man is going to make; all visible. ? srns
often fail. In fact. It Is clairIl, ~,
some that the quality and statsg of 2
mans husbandship often depend unon
his wife and mother-in-law. : upO-i
Regarding the play under al .,,..,o,,
taken as whole. its principal hisctSon
les In Its being a problem W. The