Omaha daily bee., 1915-06-25

motheriy looking INX liz
old women, ap-
parently the very essence Of respectable
ity, who travel about on boats and
trains for the sole purpose of scraping
acquaintance with pretty young country
girls going TO the cities to seek employ
ment. 1t is the horrible business of these
harpies to gain the confidence of these
gNls. and to benevolently offer them
bitter until they can find something
lido. and thus to lure tine poor innocents
into places OF infany, from which many of
them never escape.
For this reason the welfare societies
for young girls, the Travellers Aid so
,ciety and every mother who is wise TO
/the dark ways of the world. impress on
the minds. of girls the darger of making
chance acquaintance when they are
travelling with any woman, no matter
how much like a mother she appears.
iTence, when benevolent old lady speaks
IL young girl she is apt to be severely,
snhbbed, and should she artlessly offer
NE girl some peppermint drops the girl
would decline, because she would be sus-
picious of being drugged, Nor, II the old
lady should faint, would the girl rush to
her rescue, because she has been told
that that is a favorite trick.
Now. obviously, most CT the garrulous
old ladies' who are travelling about, and
who would like to fall Into conversation
with the girls they meet, and Who re-
lnind them Of their own granddaughter,
are guileless and harmless as babes. But
how is the girl to know which old lady
is leader in the church in Bird Center
and which is white SLAYER? She don't
1en and SO in the interest of. her own
safety she has to oe taught to be sus-
picious OF all strange women.
Precisel9 the same thing is to be said
about the. girls dealings with men, The
great majority Of men are. enivalrous
toward women, and a girl would be as
safe with them as she would with her
own brothrs. But there Is that terrible
minority who are wolves in Sleeps cloth
ing, and who ruthlessy prey on inno-
Cence. and to protest herself against
them the girl has to be taught to ware
every strange man.
She has TO be taught the danger of what
seems an innocent Irritation; not to pick
up acquaintances who have not been prop
erly introduced and vouched for; not to
enter into conversation with men she &C
1idently meets; not to eat or drink with
br accept courtesies from men she doesn't
Xllnow. This strenuous rule often brings
n about idiotic and ridiculous results as in
Y the case Of kind-hearted ana police
d gentleman know, who seeing young
woman having a $50 hat about TO he
melted down into a pulp in sudden
shower. and mindful OF how his own wife
would feel about such a catastrophe, gal
lantly proffered his umbrella 10 the lady
sNcsa- I,t,, will
dali the police If you speak to me again.
tStiu another man of most innocent in
tSntion who seized a girl by the arm anc
snatched her from sudden death undel
the wheels of sn automobile got Wretch
How dare you!' for his pains
OF course, this is carrying The matte
10 a silly extreme. Still. in order TO pro
IL the eve lamb against the wolves ]
has been necessary to engender distrus
of all wolves in her confiding breast
But while these sweeping rules appl!
to young gIls, women of mature age ar
not bound by them, and they Should hav'
enough intelligence and knowledge OF tn
world to know when and where TO maxi
exceptions, and to be able to discriminate
between men who are deep. 6ray-eye'
Williams and men who are compe nionable
and who lcok upon women, not from tn,
point OF sex. but as fellow human beings
This point of view Is emphe sized b!
the experience OF young woman Of m,
Acquaintance, a woman of % years ant
level headed business woman, who spen
q recent Sunday afternoon in tho PARK
"a midile-aged man occupied the othe
md Of the bench or which she sat. an
lfter a while made some casual remarl
lbout the passing throng. She RRswere'
-. Ala
most interesting conversation that the,
10Th enjoyed. and they parted without tn
nan making the slightest attempt to fin
nut who the young woman was.
II was ell as innocent and friendly an
mpersonal as two ships that hail eac
,ther as they pass at sea, but the youn
Woman's family gave her a terrific scold
ng when they heard Of IL, and considers
hat ahe had committed a grave indiscre
ion.
This &C. utter Eonsenss A woman of ;
5ears has enough sense TO take care @
herself unless she is al imbecile, an
should not be allowed out at all. Also
business woman learns mighty quicki
q size a man up and tell what mis- inter
ions are even before he knows hlmsel
Whatever the society woman and IN
housekeeping woman may think obout &
he woman who works with men 500
inds out that every man isn't trying I
lrt with every woman. and that n
woman has sufficient attractions TO max
men pursue her after she shows theI
fthat she doesn't wish TO be pursued.
n After all, the best ehaperoa in N
" world Is good hard horse sense. tn
woman who uses that can size up an
situation. and tread the safe path Letwee
prudence and prudery.