Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-08-31
WOAfEN,s SENSE OF HUMoR
is STEADILY DEVELOPING
Ability to See Funny Side of Things
Will Solve Many Vexing Problems
of Sex and Abolish Many Foolish
Fashions Now Prevailing.
BY Dorothy Dix
lave women a sense of humor7

Have women sense of humor?
Men contend that they have not.
Men have frankly admitted that they
do not understand woman's anatomy,
physical or mental, but they've been
sure of one point about her, and that
is that she was made out of Adams
wishbone and not out of his funny
bone.
Tradition has it that to tell her a
funny story is like scattering pearls
before swine-that she had to have
jokes diagrammed for her, and then
laughed in the wrong place.
This is the way men, who are scin.
tillating wits abroad, who keep the
table in a roar, excuse themselves for
being dull and grouchy and silent at
the domestic breakfast table. They
hold that wife is so lacking in a
sense of humor that she is no good
even to try out a new joke on.
Perhaps it has been true that the
woman of the past had little sense of
humor and didn't laugh much. They
hadn't much to laugh about. Tears
were their portion, and in our grand
mothers time when women met to-
gether they sat up and told one an
other mournful stories of trouble and
affliction and recounted all of the pain
full details of sickbeds and bathroom
scenes.
Evolution of Women Bringing an
Elongation of the Funny-Bone.
But the evolution of women is bring
ing with it an elongation of their fun
ny-bone. Their sense of humor is be-
ginning to develop. They laugh more
and now when they meet together they
exchange jokes instead of symptoms
and particulars of their last surgical
operation; and the difference comes
pretty near to measuring the distance
that women have progressed. 1t shows
they are getting a real sense of pro-
portion in life, and that is what a
sense of humor is-in its last analysis.
Heaven knows that of all things on
earth women most need this sense of
humor! Perhaps it is because they
haven't had it that they have made
tragedies out of things that might
have been turned into comedies.
For instance, the other day the news.
papers contained an account of a
woman who had had her husband ar.
rested for assault and battery. The
next day when she appeared before
the Judge with her eyes blackened,
minus two teeth, and with her lip split
so she could hardly speak, she said
that she desired to withdraw her
charge.
For what reason?" inquired the
Judge. You seem to me TO be about
as bad a wreck as ever appeared be-
fore this court. Isn't it true that your
husband inflicted these bruises upon
you?"
"Oh, yes, your Honor" replied the
woman. But l didn't understand
when my husband beat me and I had
him arrested that he was just play
ing a practical joke upon me. I
thought he was angry and was beat
ing me because he was mad. If 1
had understood it was all in fun I
would never have said a word; for,
your Honor, I'm not one of those
women who have no sense of humor
and can't take joke"
Think, if this spirit could become
universal among women, how benefi-
cent would be its results. Take the
matter of the drunken husband, for
instance. We all know how excrucia-
tingly amusing a drunken man is on
lllC oldSCy anu llOW SldQly VIC give
two dollars of our hard-earned money
to see comedian give lifelike rep
.resentation Of a gentleman on a spree.
Yet there are thousands of women
who greet this spectacle in their own
homes, not with laughter, but with
tears. Is it possible that the wives of
drunkards have been missing a good
joke and that all they need to turn
their sorrow into joy is just to culti,
vate sense of humor?
And there's the unfaithful hus.
band-also a source of infinite Jest on
the stage, the very backbone of every
farce How we scream with laughter
as we observe on the stage the merry
antics of the gay gentleman who
rushes out of one door of the restaur.
ant with the pretty young girl with
whom he has been dining and wining,
while his fat wife waddles in at the
other door IL hot pursuit of him!
Sense of Humor Will Solve Many
Problems, Abolish Many
Foolish Fashions.
How sidesplitting are his deceptions,
how killing the lies with which he
blinds the confiding wife! How ridic.
ulous her jealousy! And what pity
that the poor forsaken lady can't join
in the laugh and see how funny it
all is!
What an incentive to wives to culti-
vate a sense of humor that will enable
them to see that a rowing husband is a
household joke instead of subject for
the divorce court!