Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-08

4 Would you advise 9th
CT girls to marry young
and take a chance on being left alone
with child TO raise and Il living to
make"
Can a woman do right by her
child. herself and her career at the
same time? Isn't one or the other
bound To suffer-
| have heard these questions many
times in the last few weeks since my
daughter Elizabeth Benson, achieved
temporary fame by graduating from
high school at II. and it became
known that I have lived my own life
as the phrase goes-as fully as if
had not been "hampered" by a child
since | was IS years old
My answer to the last question is
an emphatic Yes | wouldn't have
missed the adventure and the strug-
gle and the thrill of IL for anything in
the world
In telling Elizaheths story. am
not setting myself UP as Il model of
what the business or professional
woman as a mother can be. am not
presnming to lay down rules for child
rearing. ] have discovered no revo-
lutionary method of child education.
Elizabeth is the product Of no system,
painfully worked out and slavishly
followed If I had had such a system.
the result undoubtedly would have
been less satisfactory than Eliza
beth is.
Moreover. there are thousands of
mothers who are competing with men
In the business and professional world
and at the same time making good
Jobs of motherhood.
But Elizabeth is what is called q
''child prodigy term which I
hat
of her rearing and her education may
he interesting to other mothers and
to those modern young girls who Won
der whether to tackle marriage and
consequent motherhood, whether to
devote themselves to career. or to
try to combine the two.
1t can be done. | did it. And
Elizabeth, physically far above the
average. happier than any other per
son | have ever known. and farther
advanced in school than any other
child of her age in the United States.
Is one result
The other is my own comparative
success as an editor and a writer. and
The absolute knowledge that | have
sacrificed nothing Of individuality,
happiness and personal freedom on
the altar Of motherhood On the con-
trary, ! am UNNECESSARILY the gamer
through having been Elizabeth's
mother
Fell in Love With Poet.
Just II years ago | was only
little farther along than Elizabeth is
now. and only a very little older.
was Very busy with final examina-
tons IN my freshman year at Baylor
University, Waco. Tex. and for the
first time in that wonderful year my
mind was not wholly upon the seri
Gus business of getting an education.
For | was in love. And | wasn't at
all sure that the clever freshman I
was in love with cared whether |
existed or not. Such an important
young man. too, He was. Charles AL
den Benson. and he had just won the
gold medal for poetry offered by the
Texas intercollegiate Press ASSocia-
ton. Besides being Baylors most
distinguished poet. he was earning
his way through college far more ro-
manticallY than |, for he was fore
man of the Baylor Print Shop. and
to his clever hands were trusted the
sacred issues Of the Literary Monthly
and the Lariat, the weekly college
newspaper of which he was associate
editor
The cleNerest freshman of them all.
Why should he notice baShful
homely little l6-year-old girl fresh
man. who took college far too seri-
ously. plugged too consCientiously at
grading tiresome themes for the Eng
lish department to pay her tuition.
and did such stupid work as tipping
for professors and seniors to earn her
hoard and clothes"
And such clothes. PLAIN. service
able, Bingham dresses. shiny. cheap
blue serge skirts, worn with thick. |
white MILDLY hlOuses. never SO crisp
and white as those of the other girls /
because had 10 wash and iron them
In odd moments snatched from work !
and study
Money Seemed Unimportant.
We both enrolled for the Summer /
session. Charles and |. and. somehow. !
before the session closed. we were en- |
gagged. and couldn't possibly consider |
waiting until we finished college to he !
married. What ii hurry we were in |
And how much in love we were.
We had no money. but that seemed !
20 unimportant. We never had had |
bny money. and if we didn't marry, |
tre would have TO so on working just /
lhe same Why not marry and work |
lind 80 to school. just as if we We're
not married? II was certainly sound |
economic reasoning. we agreed. for we
could save on room rent, And what !
old we care if the other students
;aughed at US when wc entered cot
lege that Fall as "Mr. ana Mrs. i
Charles A. Benson?
We even told each other fibs about |
our age Charles said he was 81 so
that would think he was a grown !
up man. | suppose; and I told him !
was is. so that ! shouldn't have to
ask permission from my relatives.
with whom | vas not living, TO be
married. ] had been working since
J was 10. Wasn't | really grown-up?
Maybe we were just little afraid
of appearing ridiculous 10 each other
II We confessed that we were both
under age. Tor ! lacked a month of
being II when we married. and
Charles had Just passed his nineteenth