Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-02-15
"Women Take Themselves Much Too Seriously,
Says Self-Appointed Missionary

| worlds work vastly better, if they would
only learn to like each other"
Can that be learned?"
Yes, by self training. Every woman
can shame herself out of the cave woman
idea that every other woman wants the
man she cares for, or the man she might
care for. This Is a thinking age and 1t
is time for women to get rid of the primi-
tive idea which makes them see in every
other woman man-taker. We can
train ourselves to think of every woman
as woman, as a creature with tender
ness and sympathy, and tineness Of sem
sibilities that no man on earth can pos
sess or ever will possess We should
think of every woman we meet as having
some of the qualities that make our moth
ers the most beautiful person, or memory
in our lives. That is the way to begin
to like woman. But what are we in
clined to do? What have we for centu-
ries been doing? A woman contrasts or
compares every woman with herself She
meets a woman who has done some work
in the world. She doesn't think of the
woman in connection with her work. No
She regards her in comparison with her
self. She sees that she is wearing sables,
and she says to herself or to others:
Now. where did you get those sables? l
haven't any sables!' or she looks search
ingly at her and says: 4 wonder if she's
as young as she looks I'll bet she's as
| old as l am, or older We are inclined
always to make ourselves the standard
| of comparison.
Women are thinking less of men,
They are growing more Insufficient
And what is going TO become of the race?
That is my fear | should like to see
women adopt mems code in friendship
A mans code is stand by If a friend
tells him anything in confidence he would
be torn to pieces before ne would tell it.
! When women learn to keep each others
secrets they will be better friends.
Humor TO Help.
But l have great hope in the growing
| sense of humor in women. They are
gradually learning to take themselves
more humorously, feeling as men do
that they and their problems are more
or less of a joke ard they are gradually
developing the ability to laugh. or at least
| to smile, at them Formerly every wom-
an was more or less developed ira
| gedenne, in her own affairs. Now she Is
| developing comedy gifts. Women are
welcoming the ADVENT OF sense OF humOr
| in women. Every man will gladly do
anything he can to develop it in a woman
| if she shows a spark of it in her.
There is need Of women liking each
other better. 1t will make them better
wives and housewives and mothers es-
pecially mothers Men are at best mere
| ly an incentive to the duty of mother
hood They impress upon women that it
| is their duty to rear future presidents
| of the United States. How the white
house would be crowded if a milIionth of
the children who were urged to be presi
| dent even tried IT! But women help each
| other to be good mothers by exchanging
| Ideas and showing each other how"
How can this better era be brought
| about?'
by taking themselves less seriously
and selfishIy, by regarding every woman
as a woman, not a man-thief; by keeping
each others secrets, and by clubbing it
within reasonable bounds. Men hate
women's clubs, but clubs within reason
are the friends of households"