The Washington herald., 1917-12-17
ID Views of Interest to the Women Readers Herald
TlE SILVER LINING TO POVERTY
~ DoRorHY DIX. s..
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer.

"I envey. you the advantages that
you are able to give your children"
said the millionaire to the poor WON.
an. s.r
"The advantages that I can give
my children" cried the poor woman
In amusement. what advantage can
gEe my children \
''The great advantage Of poverty"
replied the millionaire.
You are mocking me-" said the
woman. why the bitterest thing in
poverty to me is the fact that can
not give my children the advantages
that I want to give them For my
self I do not greatly care. / have
been poor So long and have done
without the things that / wanted so
long that my personal desires have
been atrophied. / can accept pow
erty for myself with patience and
philosophy.
But with my children II is another
matter. The knowledge that can
not give my children the advantages
that the rich can give theirs stabs
me to the heart and vets my pillow
with tears. / see my girls pretty.
charming and attractive, and yearn
TO give them beautiful clothes, to take
them to winter and summer resorts,
to entertain for them, to give them
social advantages.
81 see my boys handsome, manly.
with fine minds. energetic and am
bilious, and I would give my very
life to send them to college. to give
them the advantage OF education and
a start in the world.
Instead of my being able to do
what l would like for my children
they have had TO do for themselves.
One OF my girls is a stenographer,
the other is in a store. Both of my
boys have been at work since they
were IS. I have been able TO give
none of them any advantages"
Except the greatest advantage OF
all-poverty." replied the millionaire.
81 have heard that your daughter.
who Is a stenographer, has become
the private secretary to the head Of
her firm. and that the one in the store
is going to be made a buyer. / am
told that both of your boys are hust-
ling, wide-awake young fellows who
are looked upon as coming men by
their employers. So 1t seems to me
that you have proved my theory that
poverty is a blessing in youth. even
IL it is a blessing that is so camou-
fiaged that we don't recognize II at
sight.
81 can sympathize with you in the
way you have felt when your pretty
young daughters had to roll up
their sleeves and go to work in
stead OF spending their time gad-
ding around from store to store and
party to party and filling their days
with silly eXtravagances and
amusements. But when you come
down to brass tacks. do you really
think that the idle life is better for
- girl physically. morally or spirit
ually than it is for her to be en-
gagged in some useful work?
Don't you think that the girl
who uses her brains in graphing
with the real problems of the world
develops into a more intelligent
human being than the girl who
never exercises her mind over any
thing but dress and bridge: Don't
you think that the girl who has
achieved independence and can
stand on her two strong little feet
is a finer character than the poor
weak parasitic female who has to
hang on to some man for support
as long as she lives?
Don't you think that the poor
girl has a better chance to marry
happily than the rich girl? 1 think
no girls in the world have as poor
a show of getting a decent husband
as rich ones. They are pursued by
fortune hunters and they are sur
rounded by idle. worthless, selfish.
pampered pets that have never done
anything in their lives but think
about themselves and their own
pleasure and amusement.
The men who are doing things
and who are worth marrying are
in the world where your daughters
live-not where mine are-and your
daughters have ten times the mat
rimonial opportunities that mine
have. When your daughters marry
they will be married for love: mine
will be married by men with an
eager eye on their dowries. Believe
me. the opportunity OF getting a
good husband is one of the advan-
tages Of poverty that ought to go
a long ways toward taking away
its sting with girls.
"As for your boys. poverty Is the
making of young man. 1t is as easy