New-York tribune., 1920-03-03

sss~~
at tho complete absence Of self-oon-
sciousness which she displayed. Her
mind appeared TO be q registering ma
chino which functioned quite independ-
emily Of her intimate personality"
All this seems extraordinary to us.
Not because "thsre was not the least
vestige Of coquetry' in the business
manner Of Ruth Bernstein, but because
Mr.. Weyl thinks that 1t should be men
toned as something most unusual. We
have met hundreds of women in busi-
ness, and 1t is our impression that the
manner Of exactly ninety-nine and a
half Of them was impersonal and with
out coquetry. What in heavens name
did Mr.. Weyl expect? Would he have
felt that Miss Bernstein was q more
normal person if she had begun her
discussion Of the affairs Of the adver-
tising department with q hula dance
The notion that a woman, even in busi-
ness hours. looks upon every man rs q
possible lover or husband and is, there
fore, self-conscious, is man-made and
without foundation in fact. Nobody IN
the world can be more impersonal with
q column of figures than woman. Any
man who begins a business deal with
woman and conducts it while think
ing poor, little, fluttering, sentimental
thing" will come out Of that deal to
exclaim ruefully, "Woman's place il in
the home"
Mrs. Hardwick, the happy woman of
Wey's story, Is not convincing char
acter. The sketch Is much too broad
and too conventional.
Henry" expostulated his wife, "can
you never learn to eschew vulgar ex-
pressions? To me they represent moth
ing but complete bankruptcy Of ac-
curate. forceful diction. You say
damned clever Do you suppose that
carries half the emphasis that would
be contributed by the expression 'un-
denlably efficient in the discharge Of
her duties'?"
That, of course, is the hun,or Of ioke
papers and comic supplements. It is
first cousin to the whc,zes about
Johnny Bostonbeans. Nobody talks
IKE that. But not only in the broad
strokes Of burlesque is the character
OF Mrs. Hardwick unconvincing. She
IS pictured in the early part Of the
book as hopeless dunderhead at busi-
ness, who let's everything in her home
go to rack and ruin. while in the last
chapter she suddenly makes $4,000
by course of lectures. Any person.
man or woman, who can make $4,000
by iecturing for a week, or q month. or
year, Is not only q business man but.
more than that, master mind" as
the headlines have It.
Mr.. Weyl follows one convention
which has been carefully laid down in
plays and novels. When Hardwick
hears that his wife has made $40 900
and that the family Is cleared of the
debts which have been pressing upon
them he Is so miserable that he can
hardly keep from crying. It is ex-
planned that he found it heartbreaking
to "relinquish his position as the sole
provider."
The character Of Kardwick, on tho
whole. is we'll done, and "The Happy
Woman" Is interesting because, in q
large measure, 1t deals with sub
jects with which Mr.. Weyl Is
familiar. While we are inclined
to question his opinion Of women
IN trade and as sole providers, it is evil
dent that he knows the ins and outs Of
the printing business, and he has made
skillful use Of the fact that there is
high narrative adventure in the details
OF any business If only the author
knows enough about it.
In all the questionnaires which hav.
been offered to prospective Presiden-
tfal candidates vital things are neg
lected. 1t seems to us that nobody
should stand before the electorate until
ne has been asked: do you draw to
inside straights and three fiushes ?. II
we knew that we could set about get
ting business administration.