The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-02-07
Manners and Morals
BY JANE JORDAN

If YOU disagree with Jane Jordan. do not
hesitate to write and tell her so. Letters
OF opinion always are welcome, and the
best ones will be published.
Dear Jane Jordan - While
think you have many fine ideas
and an uncanny gift of knowing
human nature, it sort of chills a
person-the things you say. The
world is dark enough and you
have a tremendous power of the
press to do good or bad. If
had it, 1 would do wonders with
it. You uphold men in everything,
but are hard on your own sex.
B. C. A.
Dear B. c. Am the same mail
with your letter comes one from
"Nasy," which inquiries, why do
you always take sides with the men
and razz the women to death?"
1 am not unSympathetic with my
own sex. If had to live in world
peopled with no one but men, I
would lose my mind in short order
and turn into a gibbering idiot for
want of some one sympathetic to
talk to-
1 always have felt that women
had a much harder time in life than
men. For hundreds of years west
ern civilization has given the DOM
inant position to men. The prop
erty, liberty and even the con-
cSience Of a wife belonged to her
husband
The case of woman has been
stated eloquently in the following
words by Samuel SchmaIhausen:
"Woman's plight on earth is tragic.
She is tortured by the problem of
age as man is not. She is fright
ened by sex in sense man hardly
ever knows. She is subjected to
experimentation, with more attend
ant deprivation and humiliation
than man experiences. Her creative
power is discouraged or derided.
cSir, a woman'a composing is like
a dogs walking on his hind legs.
1t is not done we'll, but you are sur
p-ised to find it done at all.D
Her desire to leap beyond sex
into humanness is on every side OBJ
structed and thwarted. She is dis
couraged from using her mind and
then lambasted for being emotional
and infantile. She is brought up
to be so servile, dependent and
compliant that forever after she is
rendered unfit for life's profundities
She dares not be as critical of
man as he naturally and perennial
ly is of her, for fear of losing his
respect and love! Subtle servility
in the female: arrogant egotism in
the male: there's life's equation for
cCmp2niona5ility in civilized
world"
This is the status of woman in
the world today as I see it. Within
the last fifty years, women have
made enormous strides in gaining
equality with men. They can in
herit and own property; they can
vote and sit on juries; they can
take part in the government and
follow professions; they have equal
rights in their own children, and
their earnings belong to themselves.
But they have not freed them
selves from a subconscious depend
ence upon men, nor can the aver
age woman achieve a happy life
without anneXing a man Of her own
What I try hardest to do in this
column is to interpret men to wom-
en-. Unless they understand this
masculine creature of whom they
have such great need, how can they
hope to adjust themselves to a life
time OF living with him?
Women forever are baff1ed by the
behavior Of men and forever in
search of a method by which to
make them conform to their own
ideal of the way a man should be-
have.
When I point out the causes for
a husbands or a sweetheart's be-
havior. am not necessarily taking
sides" I am only stating some facts
about masculine psychology which l
am powerless to change long
since have given up the notion that
you can change a mans nature
merely by giving him fits for the
things he Gees, or by passing laws
commanding him to be good.
Laws must be written in the
heart before they are written on
paper" writes Havelock Ellis. 1t Is
FAIR DYElNG
Nationa y O.
y know Inscto = m
Notox used ! sVV
exclusively. Coiors 49,