Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-04-21
DOROTHY. DIX TALKS
WHAT WOMEN LIKE
POOR young man, whose mother ts
BY DOROTHY DIX

~ dependent upon him, and who gets
only a very modest salary, asks me
whether he shall marry or not.
1t all depends on the man and the girl,
themselves.
If the man is one of the easy-going, I'M
ambitious kind who will be content in a
humble sort of way to the end of his days,
he may marry whenever it pleases him.
Probably an early marriage is best for him,
because he will find most of his happiness
around his own hearthstone. He will be the
man who will blissfully water a pocket
handkerchief suburban yard, or potter
around, putting up new shelves in a two-by-
four flat and who will reach the measure
of his aspirations when he gets five-dollar
increase in wages.
Perhaps this kind of man has the best Of
life because he is never torn by any of the
strivings towards the unattainable, nor does
he know any of the despair of baked am
billions. Wife, and home, and children, are
his reward in life, and the sooner he gets
them, the longer he has to enjoy them.
The poor man who is ambitious, handicaps
himself by marriage. Success is jealous
mistress, and demands of the one who wins
her all that he has to give of time, and eff
fort, and devotion, and she flouts those who
give her half-hearted allegiance, and prefer
wife before her.
The man who wants to climb fast and go
high, should have as little on his back as
DOSS1Dl6.
evenings in study and in meeting those who
can advance his fortune. His mind should be
clear of petty worries that distract his
thoughts from the main issue. He should
have no encumbrances that tie him down to
any one particular spot. He should save his
money so that he can take advantage of
whatever comes his way.
All of these things are impossible to the
poor man who marries young. His wife ma
turally feels that she has right to much OF
his time and attention, and that when he is
at home he should devote himself to enter
tanning her. Many a young doctor and law
yer fall behind in their professions because
their pretty wives weep, and think them
selves neglected, when their husbands try to
study at home in the evenings
All domestic life is as full of worry as an
egg is Of meat. There are the inevitable con-
flict of wills between husbands and wives;
the babies with collie; the water pipes that
burst; the coal that gives out too soon; the
arguments; the squabbles; the sickness; the
wife's disagreeabe relatives; the little daily
pinpricks that man has to resolutely put OUT
of his mind before he attacks his big prob
lens and of which the single man is free.
And there's the money question. A poor
man who marries young has to be imam
cial genius nowadays to get one inch far
Their on than he is on his wedding day. It
takes so much money to support family,
that it is almost impossible for him to have
a dollar Worse still, he is bound to stay
where he is, because with wife and chill
dren to feed and clothe, he cannot afford to
be out Of work or risk what he has on the
chance of getting something much betters
The poor young married man cannot be : q
soldier Of fortune He is a slave to It.
This ALSO is to be considered, that no
! one takes the interest in married man tnaC
| they do in a single man. This Is unjust, but
| it is merely true. An attractive young bache-
Io,. {c Cd ohO1Jf fO nj w
| the men who have plums to hand out, and
he has his fortune pushed by women who
like him and say to their husbands, why
don't you do something for that nice young
Johes?" But let young Jones get married,
and they drop him like a hot potato.
For these, and many other reasons, 1t Is
suicidal for a poor young man to get mar
ried UNLESS he marries a certain type OF
girl. It is fatal for the poor and amD1tlous
young man to marry a selfish girl who VIII
demand much of him, or an extravaganza
girl who will spend all of his money. or a
high tempere girl with whor' he will be IN
a perpetual wrangle, or even just an ordi7
nary domestic girl who will be just as mueh
dead weight for him to carry.
But there are women who are flames on
ambition themselves, and who are not bur7
dens on the back of the man who is tryln q
to climb the ladder of success. @They are
boosters who push them up. They are spurs
in his side that make him climb.
have seen women breathe their own ire
and spirit into husbands until they animat7
ed mere Jumps of clay, and turned them
into efficient men. I have seen many cleV1
err woman jockey dull husband into good
place. I have seen wives who were such good
press agents that they convinced the public
that their ordinary husbands were geniuses1
/ know many a doctor and dentist whose
clientele rests on their wives popularity.
could point to a dozen men who go to worR|
every morning, instead Of playing golf, he1
cause they are afraid of their wives.
An ambitious wife with good health, sol
cial tact, and : stiff backbone is the besq
asset any man can have, and he does well
to marry such woman the minute she sayd
| eyes" no matter how poor he is. She VII
find way to get along.
Then there are, Of course, the women VINO
have money and valuable family connections
and who cal give their husbands hand upI
That kind of wife is help and not, 4
hindrance.
So, whether poor young man Shouicl
marry or not, depends upon himself, an1
upon the girl and upon what he asks o1
| life.
Copyright, 1920, by the Wheeler syndi-
cate. Inc.