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he Omaha Senday Bee
Magazine Page
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Spinsters Who Confute Colorado
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kF , REV,. ELMER E.'HUFFXER had his
way,: all old maids in Omaha and In
every' other place would be exiled to a
deerti island. And who' is this El
nieVijE.i and why' does5 he wish to
banlshTthe spinsters?
V. In the first place, Rev. Mr. Huff
ner is pastor of : the Christian church of Grand
Jnnctlon,'Colo. "Or,'Vather, he was minister in that
church. He has - resigned ' and the sermon advo
cating the banishment of old maids was his last.
An Omaha , spinster suggested "that Jt is well for
ulm that he saved that sermon until tfie last.
The sermon, - which . has stirred" up quite a
tempest of protest among unmarried people all the
vay from Boston to San Francisco, was entitled
"Love, Courtship . and Marriage." In it Rev. Mr.
i luffner declared that bachelors and bachelor maids
were, waste humanity and that they should be iso
lated on an Island .where they could not hinder the
progress'' of civilization.'; ' ' .':'' ; ;
He made the statement that Helen Gould would
be a far better - member of society, if ;,ehe, were
married. The noted 'millionairess arid philanthro
pist promptly, wrote .Rev. Mr., Huff ner a letter in
vhich she protested that she and otherssingle like
herself, were not; hindering -civilization,' but ad
vancing, it, and ' that if she had found a "suitable
helpmate she might have spent her' money in a
way which might not have done as much good as
it has done.
Other prominent spinsters of the country have
voiced their protest.'
. What do Omaha spinsters think about it? " -
Well, if Rev. Mr. ;Huff ner had heard the un
complimentary, remarks they made about him, and
Lnew of the acornXul attitude to 'put It mildly '
lhey take toward his ideas as expressed, in- VLove, ;
turtiUp' and...' Marriage -he would probably feel
like crawling away.to.the. desert island he has de-
signed for them 'and hiding his ministerial head in ;
.he sand. , . , ' ' ''"'t "';
Some of the .Omaha bachelor women think that
Uev. Mr. Huff ner andhlg ideas are a Joke; others
feel sure that he U a ' little bit ..touched that hl
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Omaha Women Who Would Be Exiled
if Rey. Huffner Had His Way
Kate A.' MoHugh,' principal of High scliool. ; ' .
Clara F.. Cooper, principal of Teachers'-Training ;
-school,: !' .: : .:
Jennie ll Redfield, principal CasteUar school, j
5Iary A.' Pitch.-princlpal Lake school. ' : .:
Lizzie L, Banker, principal Pacific school. -Helen
Wyckof f ,- principal Comenius - school. .
Euphemia Jolinson, principal Brownell Hall.
Edith Tobitt, librarian of Public library. . .
Margaret O'Brien, ' charge of library reading
' , robmi ; ' ', ' ' , , . , . . . .
Kate Bchwartzlande". head of library children's ;
! department. . . .' .
Mabel W. Porter, general secretary of Associated f
.' Charities.-.;-.''' y' i v
Esther A. Johnson, probation officer of Jnvenilo '
'courtl t ," .' ' x " ' '.; '
Lily M. Strong, general. Secretary of Young -
M'omen's Christian association.
Marie Hainess, general secretary of Scandina
" vlan Young Women's Cliristian asosciation.
Nellie Magee, superintendent of City Mission.
gray matter is not quite up to the standard; others
are downright indignant that anyone should think
and .say the things that he said. V J
All protest against being marooned on a desert
island. ,"' '
" "Although," said one spinster of ' a very optimis
tic temperament, "we, would no doubt form a very
notable assemblage and would find many useful
and interesting, employments and ways of enjoy
ing ourselves." , t . .
But .'they ..all protest that they do not want tos
be exiled. They believe that they ought not to be
.sent off. to an Island--desert or otherwise. They
declare that ; they' are; needed here that there is
work here which they must do. " s"
There is not a man-hater among them. They
have not improved opportunities to marry-Hiome
because they have been needed to help in the sup
port of their families, others because they believed
that they would be happier and more useful single.
A good many have ( been so' very busy - that they
have not had time to consider the question at all.
. r There is. probably no one in the community but
what would admit that it would be a great loss to
-Omaha to have all our bachelor women sent away,
For It is the women of Omaha who are taking the
lead in and doing the actual work of. the educa-
-tlonsl aml Philanthropic activities. The principal
of the high" school and of all the grade schools, ex
cept one are spinsters, as are also' the principal of
the Teachers' Training school and the assistant,
superintendent of schools.-. Nearly all of Omaha's
teachers are old maids or -young maids. .
.' The head and assistants in the public library
are unmarried ' women, as - are also most ? of the
heads and workers In the charitable Institutions.
Our spinsters are prominent in the professions, as
doctors, . lawyers, trained nurses, musicians; in
business, in offices. In - department stores and
wholesale houses. . " , : ' -
A rapid, canvass of a dozen or. more bachelor
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Clara Schaefer, head resident Social Settlement.
Lillian Stuff, head nurse Visiting Nurse assoda-
. : ' tion. ' . S ' - "' ... 'v.,.
Belle Ryan, assistant Superintendent schools. ,
Louise. McPherson, president Visiting Nurse as
sociation.' Stella Hamilton, president Christ Child society;
director Visiting Nurse association.
Arabella Kimball, director of tho Creche.
Janet Wallace, High school teacher; secretary
' Social Settlement association.
Joy Higgins, in United States internal revenue
' department; Settlement worker.
Katherlne Hughes, assistant secretary of Ak-
Sar-Ben. .
Nellie Malone, secretary to the mayor.
Mary Strong, physician.
Abby Virginia Holmes, physician.
Nora Falrchild, physician. , 4
Elizabeth F. McCartney, lawyer.
Frances Graves, business woman.
Mary Munchhoff, musican.
women was made one day last week to find out
what they thought of Rev. Mr. Huffner's "maroon-'em-to-a-desert-island"
idea. My, how his ears
must have burned that day!
This is what Miss Frances Graves Bald:
I can't understand just why the gentleman
wishes to condemn us to an existence on a barren
island. While it is possibly true that in some in
stances selfishness is the main cause of men and
women refusing to marry; that a disinclination to
assume the duties and responsibilities of married
life has, in some individual cases, had something
to do with men and women remaining single, it
would seem that tho punishment prescribed by tho
clerical gentleman was a little more serlouB than
the offense Would warrant. This seems especially
true when one considers the fact that many married
people exhibit a selfishness and lack of apprecia
tion of their responsibilities in the raising of their
children that would appear to the disinterested ob
server to be even more criminal than the simple
refusal of parentage. .
"It would Beem to me that the gentleman in
question has made a rather wild statement. That
he is not conversant with his subject; also that he
is inclined to be a little vindictive. The condition
of the birth rate in the United States would hardly
seem to justify such a serious punishment for the
failure of a comparatively small number of men
and. women to fulfill the primal purpose for which
they were created. - .''.'
I believe, that by far the greater number of un
married women do, in one way or another, follow
aa truly and faithfully the strongest instinct of
their nature, the mother instinct, as does the
woman who has fulfilled her great law of nature.
" . ''Do I agree with the minister who has declared
that the unmarried men and women of the world
are a stumbling block to civilization?'.' asked Miss
Joy' Higgins.' "Well, ather not! . Most of the un
married women I know, aside from 'providing for
themselves and others, are so busy picking up ajd
adjusting stumbling humanity they haven't time
. to contemplate or alter their unholy state of single
' ness. Mind you, this stumbling humanity has not
bumped itself against poor, boney spinsterhood. In
, eome remote way or other its bumps have to do
Minister's
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with matrimony.' I'm not discouraging tho holy
state; quite the contrary. I mention this because
it is only the unmarried who have been attacke.'.
"About these good women that the reverend
gentleman has mentioned in particular. If anyone
is cheated it . is the. Helen Goulds, the Jane
Addamses, the Anne Morgans and countless other
unmarried women who have given their lives to
the good of others; not humanity, not civilization.
The world gains. If these women have shut out of
their lives the more intimate love and denied them
selves the joy of holding their own children in their
arms, It is that their hearts may be filled with a
more universal love and tbeir arms held out to all
the needy little children of. the world.' Thetr's is
the sacrifice, but these good women are not look
ing upon it so. Strange, it Beems only to be worry
ing the - ministers! If one wanted to be real
vindictive she might have some remarks to make
about the hard, unrequited lives of many poor
ministers' wives! '. s - . " ' . "
' "Not to point a moral, only just to mention it
in passing. Helen Gould's sister, Anna Gould-de
Castellaine-de Sagan, obeyed the divine injunction.
Is it not a fair question to ask which of these two
sisters' lives . is the more' illuminating lesson to
humanity?"
Miss Nellie Magee said that many single women
prefer to remain so because they believe that they
can be of more use in the world that way. Sbe
said: "I think that each Individual should choose
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her own way and; if sne is doing her best, should ;
not be criticised.. K
"I. always wanted to do the things ;that no one
else wanted, to do. I drifted into mission work
years ago and it has been my life ever since. I
could not be happy unless I were doing it."" '
Miss Katherine Hughes said: ' "The single
women are the ones who are progressive. They
are all doing work wuich is worth while and
making for the advancement of civilization. It
used to be that marriage was the only outlook for
a girl. She married often because it was the only
thing to do. Now it is different. There are any
number of interests and lines of work open to
women. They are not dependent on marriage and
do not rush into it. There is work for them in the
world outside the home."
Miss Jennie L. Redfield: "This minister over
looks the fact that the women are doing the teach
ing and charity work of the world. The fact that
Jane Addams and other women in social work art
single gives them the opportunity to do what they
could not if they were married, and civilization
would certainly lose. The schools are unquestion
ably the greatest factor in civilizing, humanizing
and mating together the American people and the
foreigners who come to this country, AH of the
schools in Omaha and most of them in other cities
are supervised by single women. ,
"I deplore .the fact that all women are not
married and taking entire charge of their own chil
dren. But no woman can take entire charge cf
her children. This is community work and a part
must be done by the single women."
Dk Mary Strong: "I think that the minister
ought-to be taken before an insanity commission.
I am an old maid. " I have the old-fashioned idea
that if a woman has a family she ought to stay at
home and take care of it. But it is not for every
woman to marry. Often there are family reasons
why women should not marry. Many -women are
not fitted for married life and to be mothers, and
may be successful at something else. These women
should remain single and there is much good that
they can do in the world."
Elizabeth F. McCartney: "I think that if the
single women are sent off into exile as Rev. Mr.
r . . (Continued on Pago Twelve.)
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