Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-22
The Man-Hunt Seen on Fifth Avenue.

After all the arguments have been adj
vanced that can be advanced to prove
that upon man should be placed the
blame when women sacrifice their virtue
the plain fact remains that except
where violence is employed, the issue
depends finally on the consent of the wo-
man.
Whatever may have been true iii re-
mote ages, whatever may be true today
in uncivilized countries. the relative Po-
sitions of the sexes in this country at
this time are that the average man IS
sexually Indifferent to any woman until
she has done something to attract his
notice and stimulate his emotions-that
at the start the average woman pursues
| the man. sztfNs
l do not mean to imply that a woman
deliberately sets out to capture a man
with view to establishing any irregu
| lar relationship with him. What L
mean is that many unthinking women
will, whenever occasion offers, use their
sex consciously or unconsciously for the
purpose of gaining influence over men,
and that once they .have come to realize
the power they can exert they fall I'M
uti al StiobS tClilpl1i1iVii ~ III " rs -
ercise further and further for the graft
fication of their wishes, whether these
lie in the direction of fattery, gifts or
matrimony.
Women are rarely honest with them
selves about their attitude toward men,
suppose that if a woman We're to go up
to any one of the thousand girls ,lat
may be seen on Fifth avenue on fine
afternoon dressed in the present alluring
and suggestive fashion. their cheeks and
lips painted, every trick and device en-
ployed which is likely to attract the at
tention of the passersby and were to
say to such Il girl that her chief object
in dressing and adjoining herself in that
fashion was to excite the emotions of
the men. she would profess and often
feel the greatest establishment and in
dignation.
But If the matter is faced frankly,
traced back 10 its cause and forward to
its issue, it is, missing out some inter-
vening steps. precisely man-hunt. dis
guised IL you will, by silks and satps.
by lingerie and lace. by the conventions
of society, but none the less man-hunt.
Talk with these girls and women and
they will deny it Indignantly. They are
simply dressing according TO the fashion.
1t is at this point that most of them
refuse to give the matter another mo-
ments thought. decline absolutely to
carry the idea of fashion to Its logical
conclusion.
As the women of this class have plenty
of money. obtained from husbands, faith
,1ati - 10.
necessary to read into their man-chase
any motive less worthy than matrimony
But carry this man-chase into class
where the girls, instead of being able to
crafty all their whims of dress and or
nament at the expense of their male rela-
tives, are supporting themselves by Their
own work and are just able by severe
economy to provide themselves with
food, shelter and clothing on very
modest scale, and the changed condi-
tons introduce some new and very i'm
portant factors into the situation.
The question is now no longer merely
one of getting husband; it is one OF
getting everything which makes the diff
ference between lonely, dull, and la
borious life and life of companionsnip
surprised that with this choice before
them Il number of girls purchase the
brighter lot at the expense of their vir-
tue. | am astonished that greater num-
bers do not do so.
That the mass of girls remain virtu-
Gus is the more creditable to them, be-
cause most of them suffer from home
training which might well be expected to
lead to an opposite result. Where are
you going to find, except among tne
poor and real girlhood today? In tGe
average home of the fairly comfortably
placed there seems to be no stage be-
tween childhood and womRnhood. As
soon as girl enters her teens she is
encouraged to play the woman, and to
play it without chaperonage.
What seems to have happened is this,
that while we have withdrawn the old