Pueblo chieftain., 1922-01-31
THE CITY OF SINGLE WOMEN
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN

BY FREDERIC J.. HASkIN
WASHINGTON. D. c.. Jan. 2s.-A
now and interesting distinction has
been conferred upon tho Capital OF the
United States by the last census. 1t
has been found that there Is a larger
proportion of unmarried women in the
District of Columbia than in any of
the states, and a much larger pro-
portion than in most OF the states.
More than half of tho females in
the District OF Columbia over Is years
OF age-53 per cent to be eNact-are
unmarried. The state of Massachu
sets comes next in percentage of
female single blessedncss with 46.s per
cent. The PERCENTAGE of married
women rises as you go West. until In
Wyoming 7e.5 per cent of all the
women who have passed 15 have hus-
bands.
There has been n great deal written
OF late years about the tendency OF
women not to marry. Some contend
that they don't marry because they
can't, and others nssert that they
don't marry because they prefer to
stay single. Well. here is a chance
for some social Investigator to study
tho single woman in her fayorite
American haunt Incidentally. the
women here come from all parts OF
the United States. and are of all class-
es. types. and ages II would be a
most interesting enterprise to study
them. Before outlining its possibiii-
ties. let us SEQ what the statistics
show about marriage In general.
II shows that the proportion OF
married people IN the total population
has increased slightly but steadily
since 1880. This. according to the
bureau itself. Is moro an Illustration
of the unreliabili;y of statistics than
~ tr ThA&. thfu
parent gain is due TO tho fact that
the proportion Of people ovsr Is and
under rs years OF age I'm the total
popula tton has decreased about s per
cent Leave II TO tho statisticianf
what this has TO do with the matter
The implication Is that the proportion
Of people who marry remains about
the same. The proportion OF those
who have been divorced and have not
remarked shows n small but steady
gain. In the agricultural West. the
proportion of married people Is gen
orally larger than In the industrial
East. The larger proportion of mar
ried women in some Of the western
states is due to the fact that there arc
more men out there in proportion TO
the women. but in some of the east
ern states there Is a smaller proper
ton OF married men as well as OF
married women. In n word, II seems
tfu" tndl IN inGustIlui CSnlsfs WnsfN
Jobs are TO be had, people are less
likely 10 marry than in agricultural
regions. In this connection II should
he remcm bcrcd that In the East are
great numbers of immigrants who ar
rive married, some bringing their
wives and somc leaving them behind.
a study OF tho native stock alonc
would In all liability show a larger
percentage Of unmarried persons In
the industrial regions ms compared
with tho agricultural.
WHY THEY RETAIN
What is the reason for this falling
off Of marriage in the Industrial cent
ers? Doubtless ono reason Is found
in the circumstances Of tho man. II
is far easier to support n wifc on
farm than In city. a farmer liter
ally must have n wife, and she is often
one Of the hardest-working and most
useful domestic animsls on the place.
The city man can get along good
deal better without a wife. He can
get his meals at cafes. he can find
people to darn his socks and do his
laundry work and clean up his room.
Also he can find feminine companion
ship outside Of marriage good deal
more easily in a large city than in a
rural community. Hence tho city
map tends TO pass up marriage moro
often than tho country dweilcr.
But the refusal is not all on tho
mans side. II the country man needs
"a wife, the country woman has liter
ally no occupation open TO her except
marriage. The city woman can get
a JOB. Tho question is whether she
really. I'm any considerable number of
cases. takes the job from choice. or
does shc generally do SO from ncccs-
sity.
There is evidently n small but
genuine revolt against matrimony In
the larger cities OF tho country. The
actual proportion of married persons
has declined little II any SO far. but
this as pointed out above. In partly
due to tho always married immigrants
pouring into those cities where the
refusal OF marriage is most common.
and so off-setting It as far as figures
show. Then. too. divorce is ON the
increase. In word. moro people stay
out OF marriage and more people get
out than formerly. The interesting
question is whether this revolt is
chiefly feminine or chiefly masculine.
IL It due chiefly TO an increase OF
women who prefer to be free or to an
increase of men who do not care to
support a wife7
THE WASHINGTON SPINSTER
The case of Washington. tho city OF
single women, would seem to be an
argument for the view that the women
arc IN revolt against marriage. 1t ia