Evening star., 1922-11-12
! NE Of the principal problems

OF general criticism Is the
problem OF cooperation and, as the
men would put 1t. sticking together
1t is all very we'll to be frank In
ones opinions and approvals or dis
approvals. but, especially when In a
foreign country. the American women
and girls should be loyal to each
other and their sisters back home.
This Is strikingly shown in an arti-
Gle quoted from an English maga-
zine and refuted by q member of the
Girl Reserves of the United States.
Miss Gertrude Gogin. national sec
retary of the Y. w. C. A. learned OF
this article. supposedly written by
an American woman. and when at
the conference of girls of fapper
age at the camp in Pennsylvania last
summer she brought the matter up
before these girls and received their
opinions on 1t.
The British publication referred TO
is called the Landmark. and the arti-
Gle has to do primarily with the
young girl Of the United States. one
might forgive a British writer Civ.
ing such vehement and undeserved
criticism of the American girl. but
it is difficult to do so with one or
our own women, who headed her artl.
Gle, IAN American Woman's Letter.
She says. in part:
The young girl of these United
States. the flapper. the chicken. as
she is variously called. is causing
anxiety to all sorts and conditions OF
people-to the uplifter., to the clergy.
to the father to the mother. even TO
the woman in the street. She is any :
thing but wholesome-looking. She is
exotic to degree" CA long, de-
n~tvN - Dlo hC
typical f1apper follows) This writer
then continues.
1T is not only the wardrobe OF the
young American girl, but her man
ners as well. that are causing anxiety
10 her friends. The women of the
United States were perhaps the last
of those of all the nations to take up
of smoking tobacco. AS recently as ftt-
teen years ago I was shocked when
saw the Viennese ladies smoking IN
restaurants. entirely surrounded by
their families and an air of respect
ability. At that time not a single
one of my acquaintance at home
smoked, and l had but the dimmest
recollection of great-aunt. who died
when I was six years old, who had
taken snuff. to the great scandal of
the contemporary branches of the
family tree. Now the girl of my
smokes herself to death.
Also she makes up 1t would not be
SO bad II she did this in private. but
she does it whenever the fancy seizes
her. bringing out her little vanity
case in the presence Of company and
touching up her countenance with
the the greatest nonchalance.
GSTHE last charge which l have to
i make against the American girl
is that she Is An imprudent creature.
who takes automobile rides alone
with young men at night: who reads
Freud and who talks about subjects
which make even her mother blush.
All in all. she IL just about as little
like a Jane Austen heroine as any
one can imagine. II her maternal
parent endeavors to exert some re-
straining influence upon her. she
talks to that lady as mother might
to misguided but well meaning
child. Girls she says calmly. are
not the ignorant and helpless things
they were IN your day. mother: and
always remember. dear, that igno-
rance is not innocence.
Have l drawn the picture Of a
monster? I hope not: for she is
singularly likeable person, the little
American gir!. Pretty as picture.
as clever as street gamin. as exotic
rs an orchid, under no restraint. un-
disciplined. frequently useless. she
etil fills our hearts and our eyes to
the exclusion Of better subjects"
Marie B. Thiele. a Chicago high
school reserve. wrote the following
which was sent as a protest to the
editor of the Landmark:
TT is unfortunate for the English
understanding OF the United States
that such an article as An Extract
From an American Woman's Letter
should be published in an English
paper. Had 1t appeared in an Ameri-
can paper. wave OF criticism suf-
would surely have followed. The
American Woman's Letter describes
a 'happer' as the typical American
girl and asks whether or not the
English girl is like the one she
describes. She implies that she thinks
for the future generations Of America,
on account Of the present prevalence.
she thinks. Of the 'happer' type.
There can be no authority on the
morals and the worth to the country
of any one girl. much less Of a COM
posite girl. Opinion must to some ex-
tent serve The opinion Of the 'Ameri-
can Woman savors Of newspaper
stories and Of what any one might
see on the street. But an ordinary
girl, during four years of high school.
has much more opportunity to know
girls than almost any one else at any
time. She finds out that there is
great deal of pretense. since 1t is de-
sirable at present to seem Independent
and sophisticated. This surface can
not cover entirely her natural self.
which does not change from century
to century or across an ocean.
This writer says that the fapper
reads Freud. sleeps great deal Of
what should be her waking hours. and
wears fur coat. What percentage
have SO much education. so much
leisure. or so much surplus wealth?
She overlooks entirely the working
girls and most Of the daughters Of
the middle class. Her flapper cannot
be representative.
00NE of the most telling straws
~ that speak for American girls
is the attraction that a wholly ideal
istic organization like the Girl Re-
serves has for hundreds OF thousands
Of girls You can see by their pur-
pose and code that it is not the flap
per- of the American Woman who
would be drawn to a club Of this kind.
Their purpose is to face life equarely.
Their code is:
"'As e Girl Reserves I will be gra-
cious In manner: impartial in judg-
ment: ready for service; Loyal to
friends: reaching toward the best:
earnest in purpose: seeing the beauti-
God: ever dependable; sincere at all
timeS' Yet its members are OF every