Evening star., 1923-07-15
Girls and Their Affairs.
Conducted BY Helen II. Fetter:
1UsT before graduation day at local

girls attending the schools, men,
bers of the senior class. were
asked what plans. If any, they had for
mulated for next fall. 1t was really
astonishing the number of replies that
gave fairly definite plans not only for
next year, but for several years to
come. There was the usual group OF
girls fortunate enough to be able to go
TO college and take special courses that
will fit them for definite positions OF
good salary. There were several In
each class who intended to take further
commercial courses to fit them for more
immediate positions in the business
world A few girls Of unusual talent in
some line of music or art have planned
to take concentrated training in that
work. All in all, there were very few
girls in all the classes that had no plans
except staying at home as the old
fashioned girl of before the world war
days stayed at home
The old question-marriage or
career-seems to have been LAID den-
nitely to rest as far as the young girl
OF high school age is concerned For
the girl in her twenties who Is mar
ried and then has to decide whether
it is wise to resume her career Whlle
married or to concentrate upon the
business of being married ana
housekeeper is another question not
of special interest to any except the
individual herself and her immediate
relatives.
The world war proved. among other
things. that girls should have prepa-
ration for some definite bread-earning
position before marriage in order TO
have a safety valve in case of marital
disaster or other sudden emergency.
\ little knowledge may be danger
Gus thing but a fairly detailed knowl-
edge of how to do at least one thing
well enough to earn ones bread and
butter by il, has never hurt anybody,
least Of all girls. -.
According TO statistics on women In
careers. particularly in the profess
sions. the number OF girls specialize
ing for some one of the professions
has Increased by thousands during the
past few years. Until shortly before
the war. school teachers in public and
private institutions constituted an
overwhelming majority of the pro-
fessional women. Now, law, medicine,
social service, journalism and the
many branches of each of these are
professions in which many women
are successfully engaged Other lines
of scientific work show increase In
feminine workers. The industries
also show marked increase.
Yet, in spite of all this, the average
girl and the unusual girl of today are
united in the one basic ideal OF
home as the real career and, as Mrs.
Rinehart, the famous playwright and
novelist, was quoted to. say in these
columns d couple of weeks ago, the
home is the real career and the others
are only filters in"
The New York Times recently pub
lished an interesting composite of the
opinions of 200 students of Vassar
College, one of the oldest and largest
American colleges for girls, stating
. the ambitions and desires of these
girls. Ninety per cent of the girls
are reported as looking forward to
the making of successful homes and
the rearing of children as their most
important job in life, The report
showed 141 declaring definitely for
marriage against eleven who preferred
a career" Less than . per cent feel
that the business world is primary an
attraction. Yet it is significant that
only five voted that woman's business
in life be solely marriage and child
rearing. They picture the woman of
the, future as equal with her grand
mother in fondness for the home but
more of a citizen. OF the 200, SO are
preparing for domestic life, % for
social service. % for teaching, 19 for
writing, medicine or art, 8 for "en-
joying life" and 80 merely to be
self-supporting.
From these reports Of Vassar girls.
1T may easily be seen tho. the girl
who goes to college does not do SO in
d haphazard, careless frame of mind. !
She goes with d decided purpose and
she graduates with even more definite
ideas. These reports also prove that
basically the American girl is not
affected by the delirious surface dis
turbances of the jazz age" nearly so
much as some of the intelligensia of |
preceding generations would insinu-
ate.
****
On the whole. the modern girl, with
her level head, in spite of impulsive
actions in the little things of life,
will not follow "the line of least
resistance" as did the heroines of
Jane Austin's time. but will make
her decisions for usefulness and
progress according to the problems
and possible solutions offered her in
each case as an individual.
The modern girl will not sit around
at home reading many novels, MAX
ing a couple of dresses and cooking
infinite amounts Of fudge even in va
cation time. 1t is a foregone conclu-
sion that whatever she decides to do,
she.will be busy and up and doing in
the fall with her eye to some ac-
complishment that may result in q
career and may only be a wider edu-
cation preparing her for another
home. At all events she will pro-
gress in spite of the many comments
TO the contrary.