Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-06
Life'sProblems
| Are Discussed
BY MRS. WILSON WOODROW
This is a topsy-turvy world.

InlS is q topSy-turNy world.
Man never wants what he has got.
When it's cool, he likes it hot"
Every day 1 get letters-letters
from girls. letters from men. Each
is seeking his or her ideal, and they
| don't find it. They write to me in
| the hope that l may be able to lead
them to the right path.
Bless them i too am chasing
Ideals. So Is everybody else. Mr.
| Rockefeller has his eye set on a golf
upon dying poor, finds his millions
| rollingsup faster than he can get rid
of them. The burglar-no signii.
canoe, of course. to this association
of names, myself, the two billion
aires and Mr.. Raffles-is always
! looking for the haul which will en-
| able them to retire from his profess
sion and start a chicken farm.
We are all like the baby in the
advertisement, reaching from his
bath toward the cake of soap which
| lies just beyond his grasp. We strive
and strive for the unattainable and
| feel that We won't be happy until We
| get it. Eternally we try to put salt
on the tail of the bluebird; but etern-
ally it fits just ahead of us.
For example, / have two letters
jylnS DelOre me from TWO men. 1hey
are direct contrast. Each man de-
sires to marry. But one. although
he has every other requisite. is un.
able to find a suitable girl, while
| the other has the girl, but lacks
what he considers the other things
needful.
Here is No. /:
II take issue with the statement
, made in a letter from young lady
i rl,t ta1a al; I;e11x,
| men prefer to marry some selfish,
| helpless creature rather than a real
woman. The trouble is that the self,
| ish, helpless kind are so much easier
to meet and get acquainted with;
and propinquity and association do
the rest. The so-called real women
the capable, efficient sort-are
usually a little cool and distinct.
They give the impression of be-
ing so business-like and competent,
that men are afraid to indulge in any
moonshine with them, or even to he
human and natural, but talk to them
! as If they were carrying on a busi-
ness conversation.
I'm the Southwest, where l come
| from, there are hundreds of men
like myself eager to get married ana
fully able to assume the response
| bilities, but who are almost in de-
1
real helpmeet.
"They do not want a selfish,
helpless creature but partner who
will help them to succeed and join
! hands with them in building q home.
The woman with a business expert,
ence and a practical Knowledge of
life would seem the ideal type of
wife for these practical men. But
when we search in the ranks or
| l,ttCinoeC xxrn af NIT I,
such curtness and indifference. that
one would as soon think of making
love to an adding machine as one OF
them"
Contrariwise, here is the lament
of No. 2:
81 take the liberty of writing to
you in regard to the very interesting
subject of marriage, although to
cover fully the different questions
ing would take more space than
the whole front page of newspaper.
! Your replies to number of your
correspondents deal fairly well with
| certain phases of the topic, but there
are others which you have left un-
answered. Probably it is as difficult
for a woman to understand a mans
mind when 1t comes to matrimony
as it is for a man to understand a
woman.
There are thirty per cent. less
men being married to-day than there
were fifty years ago. and the direct
and unquestionable cause of this lies
in the prevailing living conditions.
Take my own case for example:
am madly in love with a girl who
would marry me tomorrow if
should request it. But 1 cannot af-
ford marriage as it is understood to-
day. And 1 love the girl too mucn
to ask her to share what would
amount to general poverty.
SHOULD / marry, | would want to
supply my wife with the same
amusements and luxuries that are
enjoyed by the other married wom-
en- of her acquaintances / would not