Evening star., 1913-04-03

| Many sociological writers contliuaii'
complain that the modern woman w
often is unmarried: that the ecoiioiiiio
independence of woman has lea her ~
ignore the obligation to marry, "hie"
should be her paramount consideration.
One of the arguments most 1reauenus
used against granting politlcai eauoi.s
to women has been the assertion 'iid, ~
would lessen her inclination to marraase'
If 1t did not also lessen her attractive
ness so that her matrimonial opportuii-
ties would be fewer. The fact that IN
the year women were making thelr sue
cessful struggle for suffrage Calilothia
showed the greatest increase IN the mum
Der of marriages of any year in the MS
tory of the state, and the further iact
that this high marriage rate still con-
tinues, afford answering arguments for
the suffragsts
The age at which women marry un-
doubtedly is advancing, but this cannot
but be regarded a hopeful Indication
The young. unframed mother, often al
most a child herself. could not be as We'll
fitted properly to fill all the duties de-
volving upon the homemaker as the ma
ture woman who has arrived at her full
measure of physical and mental develop
ment. With the increased age OF women
at marriage has also come an increase in
their longevity-a fact which seems to
be generally overlooked. 1t has been
recognized, however, by the insurance
companies which are far more anxious
to insure the life of the married woman
of today than they were to insure her
| mother at the same age.
If the attractiveness of liberty to choose
her own calling, and the measure of sue
cess it brought
Pendulum Now her. had it's
Swinging Backward. hinderins the
marriage of the educated woman OF the
past generation, as is frequently asserted,
the pendulum certainly is swinging back
| ward, for the woman of the present is
| fought to plan her career with the proba-
bility of marriage always prominently
| in view. The fact that she is trained
for some special calling does not lessen
her capability for wifehood or mother
hood, because every DEVELOPED faculty
| tends to increase the general efficiency
of the individual. The record of success
full marriages of women who have
achieved success in specific callings is
| long one not in any way to be dimmed
by the exceptional few whose marriages
have been failures.
The importance of marriage in rela-
| ton to the economic development of the
nation is recognized by every one of the
important educational institutions for
women. In a great many institutions it
| Is subject for special study and girls
now discuss 1t frankly because they are.
taught to consider it from practical as
well as a sentimental viewpoint. This
practical and scientific method of con-
| sideration may be frOwned upon by the
student of the next generation. who will
discover that the glamour of romance
| must be preserved even though the prac-
| tical side of the marriage relation must
| not be lost sight of.
| Last year we'll known periodical pub
lished symposium based upon the ques-
ton, why does not the educated woman
marry?" 1t brought forth many new
ideas upon the subject the most slrpris-
ing to many readers. apparently. being
that the educated woman is marrying
just as other women do, when the right
| man appears. although her education
| makes her little more careful to assure
herself regarding the "rightness'' of the
man.
This may tend to delay the maria ge |
a few years while she wins success in |
some special |
May Delay calling. Ac-
Marriage Few Years. su,a,nk sta atis,ica 20 'ne rs
ported regarding the graduates of the
leading colleges for women, it was found |
that fully so per cent of them marry
within ten years after graduation. If |
the college woman Of the past has had
a tendency to ignore the frivolous side
Of life, which tended to make her at |
tractive to the average man, her sister |
Of the present is speedily going to remedy
that fault.
A college woman who was happily mar
rleo admitted that college training had |
tended to make some women "slow to |
recognize human nature as it really is |
20 appeal to Its littleness as well as its
bisness." Her training has made her dis !
IKE artifice. She Is now learning that !
the most erudite man is apt to appre-
ciate certain glamour, as has been evi- |
denced by the manner in which the art
lists and poets of centuries have poured |
out their admiration upon the women of !
the east, who are now found to be- as a /
class, anything but attractive They
have kept themselves veiled during their
whole existence. The masculine imagina-
tion always has been ready to credit a |
beauty not too closely revealed Having
assimilated this idea, the modern college
woman no longer will permit the men of
her own class to find a girl with less at
tainments more attractive. She will real
iZe that the power to charm is more i'm
portant than the ability to read Greek or
to. calculate an astronomical event
Among the industrial classes the in
creased cost or living, and not womans s
reluctance to give up her independence.
must be regarded as hindrance to early
marriage.
In many cases a girls earnings are al
most equal to those of a young man.
While she might
Lack of Funds Also be perfectly will
Causes Delay. them s % and saep,nee 1e,na, &c
in the home, it is not always possible for
her to meet the requirements for their
own comfort upon his earnings without |
considering the probabilities of children
The great amount of factory products
now utilized in the equipment of the home 7
frequently leaves her little real work to |
do. Until some practical means is evolv-
Cd fu xx,tich tho Ieisura TINA Of 1.rox,a.,,,