The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1922-01-31

District of Columbia than in any OF
the states, and much larger proper
tion than in most of the states.
More than half of the females in the
District of Columbia over Is years of
age-53 per cent to be exact-are un-
married. The state of Massachusetts
comes next in percentage of female
single blessedneSs with ASS per cent.
The percentage of married women
rises as you go West, until in Wyom-
ing 70.5 per cent of all the women who
have passed Is have husbands.
There has been a 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 assert that they
oon't marry because they prefer to
stay single. Well, here is a chance for
some social investigator to study the
single woman in her favorite Ameri-
can haunt. Incidentally, the women
here come from all parts of the United
States, and are of all classes, types.
and ages. 1t would be most inter
esting enterprise TO study them. Be
fore outlining its possibilities, let us
see what the statistics show about
marriage in general.
1t shows that the proportion of mar
ried people in the total population has
increased slightly, but steadily since
1890. This, according TO the bureau
itself, is more an illustration of the
unreliability of statistics than on any
thing else. They say this apparent
gain is due to the fact that the pro-
portion of people over Is and under %
years of age in the total population
has decreased about per cent. Leave
it to the statisticians what this has
to do with the matter The implica-
tion 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 a small but steady gain. In the
agricultural West, the proportion of
married people is generally larger
than in the industrial East. The larg-
er proportion of married women in
some of the western states is due to
the fact that there are more men out
! there in proportion to the women, but
in some of the eastern states there is a
smaller proportion of married men as
we'll as of married women. In a word,
! it seems true that in industrial centers
! less likely to marry than in agricultur-
al regions. In this connection it should
| be remembered that in the East are
! great numbers of immigrants who ar
| rive married, some bringing their
wives and some leaving them behind.
! A study of the native stock alone
| would in all probability show larger
| percentage of unmarried persons in
! the industrial regions as compared
with the agricultural.
| Why They Refrain.
What is the reason for this falling
off of marriage in the industrial cen
! ters? Doubtless one reason is found
! in the circumstan of the men. 1t is
far easier to support a wife on farm
( than in a city A farmer literally must
/ have a wife, and she is often one OF
| the Understanding and most useful
domestic animals on the place. The
city man can get along a good deal bet
ter without a wife. He can get his
meals at cafes, he can find people tC
darn his socks and do his laundry
work and clean up his room. Also ht
can find feminine companionship out
side of marriage a good deal more cas-
lily in large city than in a rural com
munity. Hence the city man tends t.
pass up marriage more often than tn,
country dweller.
But the refusal is not all on th
mans side. If the country man need
| a wife, the country woman has liter
ally no occupation open to her e2
cept marriage. The city woman ca
get a job. The question is whethe
she really, in any considerable numbe
, of cases, takes the job from choice, o
does she generally do so from neces
sity
There is evidently a small but gen
uine revolt against matrimony in th'
larger cities of the country. The &C
tual proportion of married persons ha
declined little if any so far, but this
as pointed out above, is partly due t.
the always-married immigrants pour
ing into those cities where the refuSa
! of marriage is most common, and 81
! off-setting it as far as figures show
Then, too, divorce is on the increase
In a word, more people stay out o
marriage and more people get out thai
formerly. The interesting question 4
whether this revolt is chiefly feminine
or chiefly masculine. Is it due chief.
, to an increase of women who prefe
to be free or to an increase of mel
| who do not care to support a wife?
| The Washington Spinster
The case of Washington, the city o
single women, would seem to be al
! argument for the view that the womel
; are in revolt against marriage. 1t i
? certain that women come to Washing
ton from all parts of the country 70
: the purpose of getting jobs. 1t is ais
: certain that Washington is known t.
women in all parts of the country as
/ place where misunderstanding is eS
. ceedingly poor This is due in par
| to the large relative proportion o
women in the population, and also Il
t part to the fact that the types of me-
: who make good husbands are no
, found here. The ideal husband is tn
r prosperous business man. There /
! very little business in Washington
The place is populated by governmen
+ clerks, politicians and newspaper mer
: who are three of the most inpecuniou
f types on earth. In fact, personabl
? men are so few in Washington tha
! any man with clean face and dreS
f suit can get into society as far as b
, is willing to go. There is a Who'll
tribe here known as cake-eaters VIII
) subsist largely by going out to tea
lunch and dinner. These young ber