Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-02-02
THE CITY OF SINGLE WO MEN-By Frederic j. HasknI

YTASHINGTO. D. c., Jan. 28.-A new
w and interesting distinction has been
w conferred upon the 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 Co
lumbia than in any the states, and a much
larger proportion than in most of the states.
More than half of the females in the Dis
trict of Columbia over Is years Of age-53
per cent to be exact-are unmarried. The
state of Massachusetts comes next in per-
centage o. female single blessedness with
468 per cent. The percentage Of married
women rises as you go west, until IN Wyom-
ing 7O.5 per cent of all the women who have
passed Is have husbands.
There has been great deal written OF
late years about the tendency of women not
to marry Some contend that they don't
marry because they prefer to stay single
Well. here is chance for some social inves-
tigator to study the single woman in her
favorite American haunt. Incidentally, the
women here come from all parts of the Unit
ed States, and are of all classes types, ana
ages 1t would be most interesting enter
prise to study th7m. Before outlining its
possibilities, let us see what the statistics
show about marriage in general.
It shows that the proportion of married
people in the total population has increased
slightly but steadily since 1890. This, &C
cording to the bureau itself, is more an IL
than of anything else. They say this appar-
ent gain is due to the fact that the proper
ton of people over Is and under 70 years OF
age in the total population has decreased
about per cent. Leave it to the statistic
ians 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 tho7e who have been divorced
and have not remarked shows small but
steady gain. In the agricultural west, the
proportion Of married people is generally
larger than in the industrial east. the
larger 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 d smaller proportion OF mar
ried men as we'll as of married women. In
a word it seems tr e that in industrial cen
tiers where Jobs are to be had, people are
less likely to marry than in agricultural re-
gions In this connection it should be re-
membered that in the east are great num-
bers of immigrants who arrive married, some
bring their wives and some leaving them be-
hind. A study Of the native stock alone
would in all probability show a larger per-
centage of unmarried persons in the indus
trial regions as compared with the agr1-
cultural
Why They Refrain
What is the reason for this falling off OF
marriage in the industrial centers? Doubt
less one reason is IOuuQ III Cuc
of the man. It e far easier to support
wife. and she is often one Of the hardest
working and most useful domestic animals
on the place The city man can get along
good deal better without 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 companionship
outside of marriage good deal more easily
in large city than in a rural community
Hence the city man tends to pass up mar
rage more often than the country dweller.
But the refusal is not all on the mans
side. If the country man needs wife, the
country woman has literally no occupation
open to her except marriage. The city wom-
an can ge' a job. The question is whether
she really, in any considerable number of
cases, takes the job from choice, or does she
generally do so from necessity.
There is evidently small but genuine re-
volt against matrimony in the larger cities
of the country. The actual proportion of
married persons has declined little if any so
far, but this, as pointed out above, is partly
due to the always married immigrants pour
ing into those cries where the refusal of
marriage is most common, and so off-setting
it as far as figure show. Then, too, divorce
is on the increase. In word, more 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. Is it due chiefly to an in
crease of women who prefer to be free or to
an increase of men who do not care to sup
port wife?
The case of Washington, the city of single