The Washington herald., 1918-04-12
Woman Is Woman's Best Friend
ny DOROTHY DIX.
Worlds Highest Paid Woman
Writer.

Every now and then you hear
woman say that she doesn't like
women and women don't like her and
that IL a woman wants any real
friendship. she has to find 1t among
men.
The poor. silly. little goose who
makes this statement, hasn't enough
intelligence to realize that when she
says this she Is card indexing her
own character. and registering her
self among those Mr.. Roosevelt hap
PLY denominated undesirable citi-
zens."
who is big Of heart, brain and sympa-
thy who doesn't like other women, and
whom other woemn do not like. II is
the vain. the selfish. the shallow
women who are amateur or profess
sional vamps. trying to snare every
man they meet, the women who have
black pages in their history that they
do not want any feminine eys to see,
who do not like other women. And
it is the mean souled women. the un-
trustworthy. the catty women that
other women instinctively fear and
dislike
Talk to any woman criminals muir
deress, a shoplifter, blackmailer.
dive keeper-and she will tell YOU
that she doesn't like women and that
women are cruel to tehir sex. But the
great women, the Susan B. Anthony's.
the Anna Shaws. the Carrie Chapman
Cats. the Helen Goulds so love their
sex that they have given their lives
to its service and they are worshipped
by millions OF women.
So absolutely unfailing is this rule
that a good woman loves women and
is loved by them. that It is always
we'll to cegartf with suspicioa one who
shuns her own sex and is given the
cold shoulder by it
AS for woman finding her best
friend among men there was never
moro fallacious theory. nor one that
was a more broken reed on which to
lean. So far from this being the truth
a woman's best friends. almost the
only ones on which she can depend
are women.
Men have deep. true sincere friend
ships for other men. but they are fair
weather friends to women.
A man is a woman's friend as long
as the skies are bright and she is gay
anu ldukIiils. he lihts lltl NHCh ChN
has on her prettiest gown, when she
is in her most sparkling mood, when
she is ready to amuse and entertain
him
But let the storms descend upon
her. Let her get sick and haggard,
and ugly. Let poverty catch her in
its cruel grasp. and she grows shabby
and hungry. Let her laughter be
turned to tears. and it's goodbye to
Mr. Friend.
1t isn't that the man minds giving
her little money il he has il. or
that he isn't sorry for her, for he is.
and il long distance sympathy is any
solace to her she's welcome to it. But
he doesn't want to see her. He doesn't
want to personally be made uncom-
Portable by having to behold her grief.
or witness the ravages that trouble
has made in her appearance. Still
less does he yearn TO listen to her tale
of woe. and as for deliberately bring
ing this upon himself by going and
hunting his afflicted friend up-why
it's a piece Of heroism that the average
man simply can't force himself to do.
He'd rather face a man-eating lion
than q woman who is going to sob out
the story of her misfortune. There
fore, when a woman finds herself in
trouble she simultaneously finds that
all of her man friends have suddenly
dropped away.
On the other hand, when a woman is
in trouble it draws the hearts Of other
women TO her. and IL Is when she
needs human companionship most that
they draw closest to her.
When death robs a woman OF the
one who Is nearest and dearest to her,
it is invariably a woman friend, not a
man friend. who treads the bitter path
of her Gethsemane with her, and who
listens with divine patience while the
broken heart pours out its weary,
dreary lamentations.
It is a woman's woman friends, not
her men friends. who bring to the
house of mourning the cheer of their
presense and whose sympathy makes
her feel that there are still those who
love her.
And when a woman meets with n
nancial misfortune. IL is women who
first come to her assistance, who think
of something she can do. and try to
get her on her feet. Perhaps men give
the money, or the employment, for
women generally have little money of
tnelT OWL, Dul DenlDu nearly every
mans benefactions is his wife's sug-
gestion.
There isn't philanthropy for the
ameliorating of the hard lot of women.
from the homes for old and helpless
women to the rescue of young and
wayward ones. that has not been jim
spired by the love of woman for wo-
man. There isn't a girl in any office
or store. or factory who isn't trying
to get some other girl a good situa-
ton. or teach some new girl her job,
so as to help her on. Everywhere you
will find womans hand stretched out
to woman in pure firendliness.
A wonnan's friendship for another
woman is one of the most unselfish
relations in life. A mans friendship
for a woman is the most selfish. for
in it he considers only his own pleas
ure and good. Never the woman's.
In proof OF this take the so-called
platonic friendship by means of which
a man serves notice on a woman that
his attentions are without intention.
and then feels free in his conscience
to go along and win her love, mo-
nopolize her time, and drive away eli
gible men.
Nothing more unfair to the woman