Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-11
BY BEATRICE FAIRFAX.

A girl writes me: IF | act the
way | want to with young men, i. e.,
decorously, | get no attention from
them whatever. | also notice if we
girls relax our standards of what is
proper, we do not hold them long.
1t appears to be choice of spinster-
hood or series of "rushes" that
frankly mean nothing more on the
part of the men than the quest of a
new girl and a good time"
She added that she was worker
who had been away from home for
two years, and she signed her letter
Discouraged" and very frankly, |
do not wonder at the signature.
How yer, think she is in the posi-
ton of the rural citizen who went
to New York, and, after reading of
two murders and a robbery in that
village of seven million people, wrote
to his home town paper that he ar
rived simultaneously with a tidal
crime wave.
The girl is too young to realize
and mak. allowances for the abnor-
NAL effect the world war has had
on everything. If it had not been for
the war, very likely she would never
have left home and had the exper-
fence which for the time being has
made her little bitter. Now, as the
companion piece to the letter. or, as
the French say, "the reverse of the
medal" | have a letter from a young
man in which he says with somewhat
brutal cynicism:
He Tries His Luck.
"Of course, every fellow tries his
luck in kissing a girl, and if she is
willing, the new toy amuses him for
awhile. But, believe me. Miss Fair
fax, he is not picking an easy kisser'
to eat his buckwheat cakes opposite
to for ever after-it's too risky"
The situation is difficult, I'll adj
mia young girl earning her living
in strange city, and apparently
fair game for every one. But think
of the millions who have survived
the ordeal and come through our
most creditable type of American
womanhood. 1t is only when the
enemy is within that girl need
fear.
The young man with the lure OF a
car, a good dinner, or the inevitable
bunch of violets is not the real men
ace. But an utter lack of resource on
the part of the girl that will drive
her to anything rather than quiet
evening at home is danger signal.
Such girls must have excitement,
amusement, pain even-but tranquil
ity, never. 3d..
Give me emotion, or give me
death" these frail moths seem to
demand as they SINCE their wings
in the bright lights. But, thank heav-
EN-, there is wholesome stratum
of American girlhood that is happily
free from moth characteristics. 1t
does not want to SINCE its wings, or
if it does think it might be amusing
to fly around the bright lights, it is
restrained by the heaps of dead
moths with singed wings that it
sees on the scrap heap.
Knows Her Own Value.
All very fine, but not for me-" the
long-headed type of young person
says. She knows her own value and
the value of the best of life too well
and in the back of her head she
knows human nature, too. Every
man takes a girl at her own valu-
alton, and if she tags herself cheap
ten cents the dozen, including the
treating her like
box" you can't blame the man for
treating her like glass alley rather
than a Kohinoor.
This is apt to be the type that
laments unless she makes herself
cheap she does not have a good time.
She does not realize she is making a
fetish of the line of least resist
ance.' And she is accepting stand
ards, or rather lack of them, instead
of setting the pace. recall another
letter from brutally frank young
man regarding a girl of this type.
"Why should anyone expect me
to marry a girl-urchin, and what did
she have to give me? We'd palled
about, and I'd paid all the bills, then
| got tired and she tried to hold me
with the tale of broken heart She
had everything but that. She craved
excitement, motoring, jazz accom-
paniments and good dinners. | pro-
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