The Washington herald., 1918-05-08

Della O'Grady is as pretty and
clever a little miliiner as ever twisted
a wisp Of ribbon and tinsel into hat
stuck a gold rose on the outside OF 1t
and a Paris label on the inside, and
sold it for an imported French con-
fection.
Ordinarily Della Is as gay and
smiling as a spring morning. but the
other day l found her with her white
young brow corrugated with thought
wrinkles, and her blithe spirits regis
tering deep dark gloom. SO l asked
her what was the matter.
"Oh," she replied pessimistically, L
am wrestling with the new woman
problem of whether it is better for
a wife who really loves her husband
and wants to help him to be cling
ing vine or a bean pole-whether she
helps him most by tightening his
burden, or by dumping such load on
him he's got to fight for his life or
be crushed, and. I've about reached
the conclusion that YOU can't be good
to your husband without running him.
And my hearts hurt, and my
pride's hurt, for l thought in my
vanity that I had solved three OF the
biggest conundrums of our day-frst
how poor young people could AFFORD
TO marry while they are still young
enough to really love, and before
their romance gets all the gilt rubbed
off of the gingerbread.
And secondly, how to prevent
the economic waste of putting a girl
in the kitchen who has trained her
self to follow a profitable, gainful oc-
cupation when she marries. which Is
as silly as it would be to put hun
dred horse power engine to doing a
two horse power job.
And thirdly, how to open up Ca
reer of usefulness and profit for mid
die aged and elderly women who are
now idle and dependent.
That's a pretty good handful of
problems for anybody to tackle" went
on Della, But 1 thought that I had
worked them all out successfully in
my own case, and now ] find that my
solution doesn't stand the acid test
Of actual experience. and l am up
in the air like everybody else.
You know before I married Tom
I had this nice little business that
is making me q good living. It:
work that 1 like to do for I fee
that I am an artist creating beau
tiful things in silks and laces in
stead of paints and marble, and
moreover. that I am a philanthro-
pist who softens the LONELINESS of
many a woman and makes hei
easier on the eyes that have to lool
at her by giving her a good hat.
al z
ing to get married of course h'
said the usual masculine thing ot
protecting me from the hardship'
of life. and about my giving up thu
shop and doing no more work ex
cept in my own little home. I de
clined on the ground that making
hats was Joy and play to me, ant
loathe cooking and washing pots
Il also explained to him tina
there is no truth in the old sayins
that two can live as cheaply as one
but that there was no gainsaying thu
truth that two people, working a
their trades, can earn more than one
I showed him that IL we both KEEP
on working for a few years we coulC
not only live in much greater confor
than We could IL We had to Ipinci
along on his small salary. but tina
we could save up enough money to bu!
us home, or for him to start in busi
ness, and to give our children, IL vi
had any, better education and {
better start in life, than either Of u
had.
"As for the home, explained t
him that We need not be deprived o
that for he had an old mother wh'
had to be supported any way, whit
would be perfectly happy to feel her
self useful once more and Independent
on the salary we would pay her TO
running our little apartment, whici
she could do much more economical!
and efficiently than could.
Tom demurred a little. but all tn
logic was on my side, so we wer'
married and everything went swim
ringlE q paE my schedule. "