The Washington herald., 1915-05-28
THE COLLEGE WOMAN'S ANSWER

College women all over the coun-
try are having something to say late
" about the charge OF race suicide
laid up against higher education for
women. You remember the charge
was made few days ago by Prof.
Roswell Johnson and Bertha J. Suits
mann. OF the University of Pitts
burgh, that college women weren't
doing their share because twenty
wears after graduation less than one
hall OF them were married; and this
half could boast of only one and one
hall child piece on the average,
while in order TO maintain the race
every woman should have on an aver
age OF four children.
Based on these conclusions the
learned ones of Pittsburgh were in
clined to condemn women's colleges,
especially women's colleges not of
the cocducational sort, and naturally
college women and heads of colleges
for women have had much to say in
reply.
What about mems colleges?" said
ono arsumentative college woman
yesterday. college men don't have
large families either. Yet no ono
says it is because college makes them
unattractivc TO women, or disinclines
them for the duties Of married Me
No one says that, just because a
college man doesn't usually have as
many children as hod carrier, that
there should be no colleges for them.
1t is ridiculous"
The charge shows lack of
thought" said another college wom-
an. Il have just been looking over
the directory issued by my alma ma
ter. In my own class the birth rate
is even below the average-but what
OF that Just look at this record |!
This girl, after studying bacteriology
in the German universities, worked
her way up to the front in ono OF the
H." laboratories here and she is do
ing her share OF research work that
ha ;lready saved many many lives.
S!c I:snt any children and she may
0s,,r marry. but She is doing her
>.....~ .or TIC rae.
"ArI lhis girl continued the COL
leg" ..onran. turning the leaves of the
cA:.loCua "Shc's working in the
,!u..s in Chicago, where she has
established a penny lunch for school
children in a particularly poor sec
tion. They are not her children, but
she j, 20 less devoted. Two OF our
Cir, studied medicine, ono to devote
! "rscli TO work in the baby hospitals
al onc to WORK among the women of
tie scraglioS OF Turkey. Here is
girl who is doing the most difficult
and sometimes repulsivc work among
fall II women. another who is an in
Nc>,2rdtor for insane asylum, trying
+" get At the real cause of congenital
insanity. and another girl who studied
law is working in the night courts.
ITO be sure these girls are not
married. Perhaps they wouldn't make
very successful wives for that matter.
Perhaps if they hadn't gone to col
lcge they would just be unhappy, old
maids at home And for tho rest of
the girls-thc girls who don't have
carcers-wcll of course they do mar
ry later in life than the average
woman. but il has been proved many
times that late marriages are moro
apt to be happy than carly ones"
What arc womcn's rights" asked
Mrs. Stuyvcsant Fish, famous society
leader OF New York, who died We'd
ncsday, and in answer to her qucs-
tion, said. "A good husband is the
best right OF every woman"
"Onc reason marriages are such
failures" she said at another time, "is
that women after marriage permit
their ideals and ambitions to die
down
Among other aphoriSms from the
tongue OF Mrs. Fish are these:
brains dominate social life here
more and more New York society !