The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-21
GENERALIZATION
By NETrA sYRETT

| l wonder how many of us realize the | futilfty of most of our generalizations2 could give hundreds of instances. but one | or two will serve to illustrate my point For example, lady of means, accus- smart" society, says, We women car, for nothing but costly gaitles and s25t | frocks. Perhaps the hard times will cure us all of our taste for luxury,'' Does she remember, does she know anything about | the thousands of women who have never | had even $25 to spend on a frocl<? Or | of the thousand others who live and bring up families on $500 a year? The smart" lady speaks for minute frac. | tion of her sex, yet she glibly hopes we shall "all'' be cured of the luxury in which nine-tenths of us have never had and never will have, the chance to in dulge,
 Another woman is told that certain | author is very poor. and instantly ex- presses disbelief in his penury: Pm quite sure he can't be-" she remarks. Why ] everyone is reading his books Every. one is talking about themn' By this the speaker means that of the people whom she Is accustomed to meet-a little set | of Heading" men and women with tastes rather above the ,,verage, may read and talk ambout thei -orks of MT. Smith
 Does she realize hl small is that pro
 portion of the put m, to which she airily alludes as lever - ,. ?'
 1 Probably not. "'lgh Mr. Smith does ! He knows that ope rich man thou
 sands of business Nen. thousands Of shop girls, thousands men and women in suburban homes, thousands of families in country towns a villages as well as a handful of people in cultured drawing rooms must be reading and talking about his novels, esss or poems.
 Then, again, '..uch entertainment may be derived from listening to a young
 mans genera lizations about women, drawn from particular instance. AS a rule, the instance has treated him badly. and again as a rule he has only himself to thank, because he has insisted upon limiting his acquaintance to certain type of woman. Undeterred by this circum-
 stance, however, he lays down the aprin- ciple that "women in general are empty
 headed, faithless and ''unsporting." Poor dear he has never in the sense of the word met women in general.
 Tc enjoy the result of indiscriminate generalities at it's best and brightest,
 however, one must wait for the advent Of a popular newspaper controversy. We
 find whole columns of papers devoted to
 jOsting contradictory statements and
 sweeping assertions diametrically op-
 
 we hear that all men are noble beings,
 and all women false; that women are the
 soul of honor, and men full of guile and
 perfidy; that women are ruining the
 country and breaking the hearts of men
 by their reckless purchase of Peldngesc
 dogs, and that men" are making us
 naught the thrift and industry of women
 by their selfish indulgence in cigars.
 It would all be more amusing if it were
 not quite so prontless. But it requires a
 clear head, vast experience of all sorts
 and conditions of men and women. inti-
 mate knowledge of many circumstances,
 and calm philosophical mind to deter
 mine that direction with any accuracy,
 and how often either in men or in woln-
 en, do we find those attributes In con
 function? Once in the proverbial blue
 moon. For most of us, the blue moon of
 wisdom will never dawn. and we shall of
 course go on generalizing as business as
 ever But no particular harm will re-
 suit. if we do not expect to be taken seri-
 ouSly.