Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-01-31
THE CITY OF SINGLE WOMEN

mans side. In the country man needs
o wifo. the country woman mas litcf-
ally no occupation open 70 her EXCEPT
marriage. The city woman can yet n
| job. The question /. In whether she
really, in any considerable number q
cases, takes the job from choice. or
does she generally DO 30 from mecca
sity.
There liz evidently n small but gon-
uine revolt against nnatrifnony Ina the
larger cities OF the country. The ac-
tual proportion OF married persons has
declined little II any 80 far. but thiz.
as pointed out above, IL partly due
TO the always-marricd Immigrants
pouring into those cities where the
refusal Of marriage IL most common.
and 80 off-setting 3. az far as figures
show. Then, too, divorce IL on the IN
crease. In word, more people stay
tout Of marriage and more people get
out than formerly. Tho interesting
lquestion In whether this revolt IL
chicfy feminine or chiefly masculine.
Is 1t due chiefly 10 an increase q
women who prefer 20 be free or n an
increase Of men who 30 not care 20
support wife2
The Washington spinster.
The case OF Washington, the city
! OF single women, would seem 10 be an
. argument for the view that the women
, are in revolt against marriage. IL -
certain that women come 20 Wash
ington from all parts Of the country
for the purpose Of getting jobs. 10 -
, also certain that Washington II known
TO women in all parts o. the country
as a. place where husba nd-hunting is
exceedingly poor. This Is due On part
70 the ,arge relative proportion ~
women in the population, and also lu
q part 10 the fact that the types ~ men
= who make good husbands are not
e found here. The ideal husband ~ the
: prosperous business man. There IL
: very little business In Washington. TIE
I. place IS populated BY Government
s clerks, politicians. and newspapermen,
: who are three Of the most impecun-
= ious types on earth. In fact, person.
o able men are 80 few IN Washington
o that any man with a clean fare ard
= a dress suit can get into society az
y far as he Is willing % go. There is a
10 whole tribe here known az cake-eat-
y esr who subsist largely by going ont
al to tea, lunch and dinner. These y0unz
u gentlemen have established the cur
- ious but useful custom Of letting the
Re ladies' pay the checks az cafes and
,e other such places where a tariff 4
n charged for the entertainment.
IN The point Is that women oertainiy
"a do not come here for the purpose q
SO finding husbands. Most o. them know
Ia in advance that game q that kin,
", ls exceedingly scarce and wary ans
~ rather lean when caught. and thos.
o. who do not know Il In advance IN,
AZ II out soon after their arrival. fe
90 they come in droves and hang ont
49, their jobe with that tenacity for which
Government otice-holders-are famous
- Thousands OF them came during III
war, and when the cutting down o
Office forces began 20 take place ate
m the armistice, there was much weep
-" ing and gnashing OF teeth among ~
fair ones who had come here 20 sef-v
their country in her hour OF need
II One and all. they seemed 20 hat
,.t going back home
1t is not hard 70 understand VIII
- they Ike washington They have JOB
's which are not very hard and CIV
NC them the necessities OF LIE. Usual
~ they do not live in well chaperone
Ne boarding houses. but club toserne
He and rent flats. They have a month Z
On vacation a. year. They enjoy a meas
get ure OF freedom and Independents
which is known 10 few girls Twin
es' at home with the folks. and 20 srl
ks fewer married women. All OF thei
up probably are willing 10 marry II
inc sufficiently brilliant offer comes alonl
lge but brilliant offers are few and fres
rye dom is sweet when once you are use
nee to 1t. Probably the So per cent
ar Washington women who are unnlai
try ried includes considerable numb
OF that new type-the spinster-b.
the choice.