Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-03-20
About the Vanishing Lady

A rising chorus of signs and groans.
mostly masculine, has accompanied
the reluctant exit of the typical lady"
from the stage of active modern life.
The world war gave the lady Cur
tain" and she disappeared forever in
to the hinterland of the period nov
ell, "reminiscences, and the costume
ball.
1t remained for Mrs. Emmeline
Pankhurst, famous English militant
s~uffragfst to deliver the valedictory of
the vanishing lady" And, fittingly
enough, the valedictory of the lady
was not spoken from some flower
wreathed rostrum by a white-gowned
girl assisted by a beribboned manu-
script. 1t was a plain newspaper in
terview, and its words were as fol-
lows:
After the war there will be no
more ladiesl There will be no more
interiors and sup~eriors; for condescen-
sion will be substituted cooperation.
When people cast their minds forward
to the new world after the war let
them reckon on a civilization with real
women really in it. What / mean,
concretely, Is hat women will never
darn or knit again. For darning and
knitting is pickup makeshift work,
and women will never and can never
return to putting in time!" Knitting
and darning will be done by machin-
cry. The homes of tomorrow will be
full of fresh air, and of healthy chill
dren besides"
4 world with real women really
in it,"
Can the most melancholy morun-
ner for the vanishing lady fail to re-
spond to the inspiration and glory of
that vision?
! For ladies' were never REAL wo-
men. Ladyhood was a pose, a pose
held so long, affected so well, so popu-
llar and becoming that it seemed al
most rea, but 1t eve was. Ladyhood
was only a tremendous powerful
! game of lets pretend" agame loved
by both men and women, q game for
a youthful world of peace, and plenty,
of selfshness and immaturity. a game
for a childish society.
| But n world suddenly matured. So
bered and strengthened by the mighty
tests of war must put away childish
things-and the old institution of
, ladyhood must go-has gone.
In the war world where love, n
work, and death suddenly became the
only realities. there was no time for
the charming poses of the lady. She
was swept aside to make room for the
truth-the woman II was then that
the world saw ladyhood for tho arti-
fetal thing. the childish game it was.
I and then that women dropped the
game and responded to the stand to-
; call OF their partners, the men Where
the lady would have wept and faint
ed the real woman smiled and work
ed; where the lady would have wrung
her helpless hands the oma invent
ed and used Substitutes" when the
lady would have w~himpered, the wo-
man cheered; when the lady would
have ornamented the sidelines the wo-
man threw herself into the bitter busi-
ness of blood and dirt and death.
Real women really in the world!"
mo moro knitting and darning''-
pickup work which is better done by
machine. No more accepting con-
ditions which can be improved. Nc
more contentment with filthy tene-
ments or rose-scented saloons where
there may be pure. fresh air for all,
No more children shaving in factories
instead of growing in school: no more
lap-dogs and cigarets instead of babies
and real homes; No more "Ladies!'
The old, laundering. ~half-awake
world loved and played with its ladies.
but in the new, busy. wiser world OF
today and tomorrow all the signs read
"WoMEN WANTED"