Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-26

New York, Jan. 24.-Now that
Leap Year Is once more upon u,
what will the women do with It?
This question. which used to
bring . rosy blush and demure tit
ter from the fair sex. is now an
swered with disconcerting frank
ness and practically by the new
women. Indeed, after asking it q
few times you perceive that women
ere getting newer and newer.
what will we do with IT," ex-
claimed . young woman politician
to whom the inquiry was tactfully
put the other day. Huh, the same
as We do with every year. Do you
mean to say you still cling to that
old tradition that men do the pro-
posing? Why, I thought our friend.
G. Bernard Shaw. exploded that
theory years ago. Here read this
it answers your question better
than l can"
With vigorous sweep Of an ath-
letic arm, the young woman pulled
a book from the shelf over her
desk and opened it upon . page
marked with a blue pencil.
at is assumed that the woman
must wait motion1ess, until she is
wooed," the reported read, land she
does wait, motionless. But that is
how the spider waits for the fly.
The spider spins her web and if the
fly shows . strength that promises
to extricate him, how swiftly does
she abandon her pretense Of pas
siveness and openly fling coil after
coil about him until he is secured
forever"
Say, promise not to quote me on
any of this" said the young woman,
as she replaced this bit Of Shavian
philosophy beside volume on
| ward politics. II don't want to
lose all my men friends"
This is a striking illustration OF
the way things have changed in the
feminine world since mother was a
girl, and especially since the last
leap year. Now women have the
long desired ballot in the majority
of states; in every state they have
secured and held on to a large num-
Der Of remunerative jobs which
used to belong exclusively to men
they have invaded the assemblies
the national legislature, and the
courts. Here in New York there
is a huge army of successful bus
mess and professional women who
could afford to support husbands
after proposing to them, if they
wanted to.
But, in the opinion Of many in.
terested observers, this very eco.
nomic facility is responsible fol
keeping these women married tt
their careers rather than to the
gentlemen of their choice. A ca.
reer, as a Observation-Disclosures
year business woman remarked TIL
lother day, is a lot more profitable
and dependable. If you get tiret
of it. she explained cody, you car
change it for another. whereas get
ting rid of a husband is a frightfu
nuisance.
Il don't believe the men need b,
frightened at all this leap year.
says this young woman. IF the
records for the first month of thi:
leap year were available, l believ,
you would find that the propose
average has never run so low. Tit
answer is found in the Hell
Wanted columns of the newspapers
There never has been a time wheI
young women have been in sucf
demand in all kinds Of business.
DO you suppose any member O
the sex who can earn a large sal
airy is going around asking for tn,
privilege of chauffeuring a ga.
stove and warming over the coffee
t of some young male person whit
hasn't half the business initiative
of a progressive girl OF today?"
This cheerful youn gadmirer o
her own sex also believes that i
gets the better of the bachelor
game. She says that increased ex
penses which are depriving man,
men of home comforts, have no
the same terrors for a woman
since she is acquainted with man!
clever devices for reducing them
A bachelor girl, she says, can cool
all sorts of cheap but wholesom,
meals in her apartment, even if sh,
has only gas burner to work with
but a man is at the mercy of tn,
city's restaurants, which is quite /;
terrible way to be.
| Many New York bachelor women
who are unwilling to share thei
careers with matrimony, are, how
ever, adopting children wheneve
their salaries grow large enough t,
support them. OF the approx
imately 5000 children for whom
the Charities association of the cit,
found home in the past few years
rs were taken by young bachelo
business women. The choice O
sexes in the adopted appears to b.
labout even. Some of the womel
prefer daughters, and some sons
One of the most prominent womel
architects of New York has adopte,
son, and a young woman politi
clan who was recently a candidate
for city magistrate has an adopte,
daughter Is years old.
Mrs. Pankhurst is one Of tn