Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-04-04
WOMEN IN THE NEWS

WOMEN IN THE NEWS
r. AMERICAN women W"rc 50 class
/ conscious ns some Of the people who
nowadays lead conspicuous groups repre-
sentative Of labor or capital. or If they
were SO Quick in their suspicious as govern
mcnts and statesmen are apt TO be" they
would have appointed committees long ago
to complain against secret and untaNor-
able propaganda Very properly they
might ask why general attention focuses
automatically on all the small and mean and
trivial things done by misguided representa-
iivoS of their SCX. while all tho great en-
dcavoro and achievements Of women go
usually unn"ic"d.
"GirIS' said United States Attorney
MrAvoy. "arc addicted to drinking nowadays
because Of the han placed on liquor. II"
said nothing Of men who, il memory serves.
were not unfamiliar with liquor before the
day Of haus aud who didn't need a rcvolu-
tionary federal law to piQuc their curiosity
and arouse their interest. Two men may
fight like dcmous in the street and the eX-
hibiton will attract only the casual attention
Of the police If two women did anything
Of that sort the community would feel scan
dalizCd. You hear a great deal about vampS
and nothing of the fnr moro detcstable
vampccs And those who write about dress
reform and the frivolous tendencies of fcmi-
nine dress proceed tn rail and reason AS 1t
bad taste and a disregard of all old fash
ioncd and admirable rules Of department
were common to virtually all women AS
matter Of fact. the woman who over
dresses or undordrcsScS and those who
get into scandals and divorce >slits and by
such routes into til" spotlight are, 10 their
sex ar large. about what the corner at
broadway and Forty second street is to
tho United States. 1t is as reasonable to
suppose that they represent any dchnit"
social trend as it would be TO accept the
London Morning Post as the mirror of
present day British feeling or to look in
mt tho Cdfc 0t III, cat BiGck and believe
that you were viewing life as it is lived in
France.
For ono American woman who cannot b"
happy uuo,s she is wearing nj least n
pound ot diamonds there Hr" millions who
wouldn't wear diamonds il they had them.
Women in America arc doing what they
hav" always done They are holding life
together and maintaining and advancing
civilized standards of ethics in every part
! of the country. To view an occasional un-
Fortunate woman in courtroom or any
ovcrndvcrtiscd jazz queen as il she w"r" in
| any way typical Of newer feminin" minds and
| tendencies is to be stupid and abysmally
ignorant Of the life of these times. 1t ism
in the drrSSmakers shops or among the
more conspicuous dinner giverS that YOU
can learn what women are doing and think
! ing about. You will have to 60 out from
! the isolated places whore existence is
conflict of vanitirs for limited and con
| spcIuu, few and look about You in the
| col"gc> on farms. in the smaller communi
| ties and among the women who's" aggressive
and intelligent tactics in relation to public
! affairs ought to be an inspiration 10 III"
| routine politicians If thcS" sam" politicians
! hadn't forgotten long ago how to be inspired.
Trend, observable in tn" great women :
colleges. for example, ar" far more dramati"
and significant than any of th" social pho
uumrnn which. visible in the f"w places
where people have too much money and too
mrrI leisure. inspire upIiftcrs to dulorous
our'rioS and frantic meddling Wherever
intelligent and devoted work is being done
i'm the interest of women and children in
industry YOU will find college girls luboring
in the background. Why do womcns col
lcgos manifest signs Of a better social con
seriousness than is diScernible in universities
organized by and for men? Bryn Mawr was
supposed to have done something now when,
recently. it prepared to open its doors TO
working girls and provide them even with
means for study. Yet for years Bryn Mawr
aud its graduates have pioneered in fields
where working women and working children
were without other champions. Similarly,
in politics women already have shown them
selves to be IA force for reconstruction and
enduring reform.
It is perhaps US idle to expect public recog
milton Of such work as this as it is to OK
poet people in the street to stop and wonder
with a sudden thrill at the thought of tho
priceless service that millions Of women rem
der in silence and Obscurity to those about
| them every day Of their lives. It is enough
10 reflect for moment and imagn" what
, existence would be like IL all women de
rart"d oven for n day from their ancient
habit Of patience or forgot for an hour their
instructive and changnlcsS devotion to al
decent and vital and gracious things
If women, listening oCCa SiOnally to the
urIifterS have reason to feel that they live
and labor in vain, it is chiefly because thr
world at large has curiosity like child :
Familar things do not interest it. greer
rose. fight in church or a woman or
girl who departs from the traditional routine
will be the center of attention because suCl
phcuOmcna are rare and strange. Strange
certainly is feminine patience, the Courag
and fortitudr of the feminine heart. frmi
nine adherence to all the saving rules o
life and the newer feminine will in polite
and in natter Of social evolution. Bat yol
have to look twice and devote a moment II
} ordered Thought to be aware Of this. Anl
these are hurried times,
4 taxicab was found waltzing on BrOal
! street Director COrtelyOu arrested th
driver and charged him with ntoxication