Evening star., 1925-03-01
BY IDA NJ. TARBELL.

the class which have in mind, when
they came to the point of building. put
UP huge structure-big reception
rooms, wide halls, bedrooms in which
one lost himself. with spaces set aside
for all sorts of unnecessary purposes
Throughout the prosperous Middle West
cities where this kind of building ragged
for many years these great houses are
being turned into clubs, dressmakins
establishments. sales houses And those
who build think primarily not of size
but of convenience, livableness, beauty
1t is woman's natural good sense assert
Ing itself. She wants something that
she can make what she calls homelike
X x r
But if there Is something in what
L am saying, what is at the bottom
of woman's reputation for extrava-
CANT spending? One fact explainins
1t in part is that the sex as a whole
is tagged because everywhere there
are certain number OF it's members
who are extravagant, and, though in
town Of 10000 women there will
probably not be over 100 that deserve
tho Characterization, this 100 Is sc
much moro conspicuous than the
$500 that the whole mass is accused
That is the inadequate way we gem
eralize about all sorts OF things
Take city of 100000 people, in
which dozen new crimes are de-
scribed each morning at length on
the front page of its newspapers and
the country soon calls 1t a criminal
city, forgetful OF the fact that IL has
hundreds Of thousands of citizens who
work faithfully all day, love and
serve their families and friends, and
go to bed regularly at 10 O'Clock.
A GENERALIZATION fn ha anxz
thing must consider all the facts, not
the few that fall under the eye In a
hasty glance at the newspaper or the
exhibits which one sees as he walks
down the street.
Even undeniable feminine extrava-
gance does not prove that the exhib-
itor has not a natural vein Of thrift
ness in her. She probably has, but
other veins have swamped it for the
time being. A woman is strongly
imitatiye-like all human beings
do, but, while multitudes OF women
dress, keep house, entertain imita-
lively, they do it on a strict budget
There will always be a few, however
in whom imitation is SO dominating
a quality that they lose the sense OF
proportion, spend extravagantly, and
they stand out because they are ex-
ceptionsl
y " n
And then, too, woman operates
under natures strict orders to preen,
to decorate herself, in order to at
tract the male. 1t is q. factor in her
business. 1t is not to be wondered at
that among women, driven as they
are by natural necessity, there should
be those whose preening and deco
rating are out of proportion.
But a still stronger factor than
either of these is the pressure that
| a certain type of men bring upon the
women whom they love to Guido the
wives and daughters of other mer
| who are their rivals The display
| their women make aids their worldly
ambitions They wish their women
| to shine, want to be proud of them
| 1t Is frequently generous, although
| hardly noble, impulse.
Take all the exhibits of women's
extravaganza that the country yields
pile them together and weigh then
| in the balance with the exhibits oi
her thriftiness, and they amount tc
but little. But that little is a gilt
tering thing outshining the heavier
weight. Attention is centered on 1t
| because it is pretty generally though'
| to be foolish and reprehensible. The
unfairness is In tagging womankind-
which, taken as a whole, Is careful
saving, self -sacrifcing-as a spend.
thrift and waster.
Copyright, 1881