Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-16

"civilization"-and which certain
phases of the war prove is some
thing quite different-have left us
little bird-like simplicity?
Why are our best and strongest
emotions forever bound up with all
sorts of material things? The high
cost of living, the difficulty of put
ting aside enough for old age, and
shall a girl give up comfortable
salary when she marries?
The considerations, like giant en-
cry wheels, pass over our souls and
destroy our finer aspirations We
are too worn with the struggle to
take the lesson of the spring and the
robin to heart. The seasons come
and go, and We wither away into
sterile old age.
The Awnking of Spring of 1918
But there is something peculiarly
awakening about the season OF 1918.
1t is a year big with fate-the cru
cial year of the war-as our Pres
dent has said. The year when hum
dreds of thousands of our young
men must cross the ocean tc that
vague Somewhere in France" When
in the course of events there must
be splendid news that will make our
hearts thrill with victory. and again
news that must wiring them with
anguish.
And what of the thousands and
thousands of young men and women
who must stay home-sometimes the
harder part-to carry on the worlds
work? They will undoubtedly be
caught up in the wheels of new con-
ditions brought about by world
war. In this great crisis we have
got to look TO the future, to Amer
lean homes and American born chill
dren to carry on the traditions OF
our country.
This will bring squarely before us
the question of women continuing in
business, or the professions, after
marriage. We can't afford to give up
women, as economic factors, now that
the year has made us so desperately
short-handed, and for the same rea-
son we need more and more Amer
lean homes, and more and more
American-born babies.
The Married Woman Teacher
We are likely, before the eventful
year of 1918 is over. to have the
question of the married woman
school teacher. that was fought out
with such bitterness in the metrop-
oils year ago, revived and thresh-
ed out on nationwide lines.
Why do we employ an army of
statisticians, census-takers, and en-
dow research bureaus with huge
sums of money to prove that the
netive-born population has small
families, or no families at all-and
then raise insuperable barriers to
women. employed in gajnful occupa-
| tions, marrying
| That is part of our curiously
oblique American philosophy, our
utter repugnance to face facts. We
complain of the dearth of native
born Americans, and then we proceed
to do everything in our power to
eliminate them.
It is as much to the interest of
this country that we have fine, clean
American marriages as that we build
ships or drill soldiers. Our vital stat
istics are not sufficiently American;
they are too often made up from
groups of people who make their
n:o ney here, but leave their deepest
patriotic feelings in the older coun-
tries.
Must Resign When She Marries
1t is understood, though there is
no actual law on the subject, that
when a girl marries fellow employe
she must resign; in marrying she au
tomatically dismisses herself. And
yet the Joint salaries of these two
young people would make a happy
American home.
never see pretty, blooming girls
sitting around boardinghouses or
segregating themselves as seems to
be, more and more, the custom of
our country. without thinking of
that line of Bernard Shaw in his
play, "Misalliance." l may not quote
to the letter. as I haven't the volume
handy, but the idea is: Girls, girls,
all over the country, whitening away
into ladies'"
He doesn't say anything about the
fine young men whitening away into
grim, old bachelors and imitation