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 it
is time for women to get rid of the print
tive idea which makes them see in every
other woman a man-taker. We can
train ourselves to think of every woman
as woman. as a creature with tender
ness and sympathy and fineness of SEN
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 a woman. But what are we in
clined to do? What have we for centu-
ries been doing? y woman contrasts or
compares every woman with herself She
meets 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:
haven't any sables" or she looks search
ngly at her and says: L wonder if she's
as young as she looks. I'll bet she's as
old as | am, or older We are inclined
always to make ourselves the standard
Of comparison.
women are thinking less OF men,
They are growing more self sufficient
And what is going to become of the race?
That is my fear. | should like to see
women adopt mems code in friendship
mans code is stand by If a friend
tells him anything in confidence he would
be torn to pieces before he 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
that they and their problems are more
or less of joke, and they are gradually
developing the ability to laugh, or at least
to smile at them Formerly every wom-
an was a more or less developed ira
gedienne 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 milllonth of
the children who were urged to be presi.
| dent even tried 1t! 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 selfishly, 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
womens clubs. but clubs within reason
are the friends of households"