y
PART TWO
SOCIE-TY SECTION
The: Omaha
Sunday
Bee
VOL. XLVIII NO. 27.
PART TWO
SOCIETY SECTION
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 15, 1918;
. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
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There Are,-New Thrills for
Mothers of Girls
Old. Prejudices Against Girl Babies Are Taking
Flight as Women Take a More Prpminent Place
in the Affairs of the World. '
W
By BEATRICE FAIRFAX.
ERE you disappointed when
the baby came?
rusty, long-locked door of opportu
nity. It's a wonderful age for a cirl
Had you longed intenselyi babv t0 be. born into.. Just think
V
M a son, and did it seem as though
the whole performance had fallen
rather flat when they told you that
:he baby was only a girl?
Did the baby's father -very much
want a boy to "carry on the family
lame" though perhaps you never
:ared so mud for the name your
selfand were all the grandparents
md lesser relatives for once in solid
Jgreement that the situation abso
x lutely demanded a boy baby?
' The disappointment didn't last
long, of coue. babies can usually
be depended on to conquer "4heir
" own domestic territory within ' a
week, and I suppose yours wasn't
, in exception. And . now -that you
ire so thoroughly reconciled to her
' sex, and are convinced that you
, wouldn't have her different in- the
minutest point, and the relatives are
i. outdoing each other in 'fatuous
ecstasy, don't you sometimes won
1 der why you weft so very sure you
, wanted a iioy, and wily everybody
else, Concerned and unconcerned,
t held precisely the same view?
Aren't ytfu even the least little bit
ashamed, of that inhospitality. of
yours, so far as daughters were
cocerned? And ,fen't you, as a
, matter of Jact, trying hard to forget
that you ever had any such feel
" ing? ' - '
: ' Prejudice Against Girls.
' The truth is, of course, that you
; weren't responsible for that preju
' .lite that flickered in ypu before
yotr baby's birth. It was purely
. traditional flicker, a race flicker,
t and hadn't anything to do with- you
at all. People Irave felt ,that way
' ar-out babies for such untold ages
that it isn't surprisiug that you
shared the feeling fr a little while.
' The desire for sons? Why, it's as
old as the world. Whereas the de
' tire "for a daughter is something
j nobody ever dreamed of feeling or
expressing until very recent times.
There's nothing mysterious about
it. 'As long as people valued and
' respected melt a-great deal more
thin women a boy baby was natur
ally a great deal more important and
: desirable than a girl babv. And I
s'ippose you "realize that I am put
ting the case very mildly. His
torians' tetr us that many ancient
Ieoples though'St no crime to xe
ose girl babies to a cruel death.
,For that matted, they're doing it
stiil. Girl babies are still allowed
' to die both in Chinji and in India.
The native religions -sanction it,
ud T suppose there's nothing for
the agonized mothers to do but sub
- mtt.
"In fact, we are 'told that in no
easteriv country; even today, does
j a girl baby meet any but a grudg
ing welcome. Snubbed at the en
trance to life, she is rigidly kept
' in Mier ptece' ever- afterward. The
- Jewish religion doesn't allow a
single candle to be lighted at-the
birth of a girl, though there is a
v welcoming blaze , whema boy is
;born. . - , -'
H, has been a man's world, hasn't
it? But it's so much less so nowa
days, in our western countries at
least, that no rrrcther need any
, longer lament 'that she . has brought
a girl baby into existence. Lvery
day that passes in'this swiftly mov
ing, i age brings a higher valuation
of women gives women a better
chance and a bigger one.
The world has rhapsodized about
woruen for some centuries and
stopped at that. Now it's gotten to
the point of taking wotnen serious
ly, of acknowledging jts need of
them, of slowly unfastening every
if the heritage awaiting that tiny
warm rosy creature in your lap.
Consider the- privilege you've had
in introducing her to a society thai
is making itself over to fit her as
fast as it can. Life ought to be a
glorious, triumphant adventure for
her from start to finish. Don't you
see there's nothing to regret in ;
her not being a boy? Aren't you
even thoroughly glad she's a girl? j
When she's older you can teach i
her what a thrillihg thing ,it is to
be a girl in her age of the world.
You can make her understand what
it is that a woman's treasure box
has really ome to hold. i
And what does it hold? Whv.-life :
first, of course. Girls are allAVed
to grow up instead of being left
naked on a rock to die.
Then the chance to learn. This
idea of sending girls to school is
a very modern thing. And the
choice of t work. The time has al
most come when a woman can fol
low any occupation she pleases.
kThen, a self-resoecting status in
love anu marriage, wnicn is very
modern, too. And finally citizen
ship. -
You can tell that amazed little
daughter of yours how things have
changed sflTce your own chiulhood.
even though you're only a scant
short generation older than she.
And yoti can make her long to be
a worth-while woman, now that she
finds she has Such a precious treas
ure box to dip into.
And you can ct her dreaming
as to hat the world will be like
when it has plunged ahead for an
other 25 years, and the touch of
women's "hands can clearly be seen'
in the actual shaping of the condi
tions we'll all be living under.
"Only a Girl," But
Perhaps you have not realized all
tins before. Perhaps you hadn t
come to see what a responsibility
you have on your hands, even
though the baby is "only a girl."
' For you'll have to fit her to lead .
her life intelligently, in the world
that is and the world that is to be. j
It isit'-t as if she were destined for
that "sheltered and protected" ex
istence we've all heard so much
about wliicR simply meant ' that ;
she remained all her life tinder-
some man's personal confrol first
her father's and then her hus
band's, for jour baby will grow up
to be just as tree as her brother.
And don't ever make the mis
take of thinking that thpse things
the doctor tells you about, fresh
air and sleep and food and cloth
ing, aren't important. It's your af
fair to se that the little creature
grows up healthy and strong, and
you'll find that to do this is a
pretty steady and exacting job, and
XOm need all the wise help you
can get.
For in the world that's coming
the half-well woman, the woman
whose mother didn't wisely guard
her infancy, isn't going to be able
to get her share or to give her
share.'. It won't do -for that baby
uf yours to have "nerves" or a bad
digestion. When you think that
she's some day probably going to be
a mother, and a homemaker' and an
active citizen and the follower of
some useful occupation outside her
home you'll see that she needs ajU
the health you can start hf out
with. , i
Do'take it seriously, this being
the mother of a girl baby. Do re
gard it as the most deliriously real
and .exercising responsibility you
have ever had or can have.
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Conditions in France Are
Unknown to' U, S-Boys
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"France is living in the' lap of
luxury. We find no shortage of food
here. We have everything to eat
e want, writes thCsoldier w
France to the folks at home.
'Naturally "the folks at home" af
ter receiving such a letter have lit
tle patience with the United States
food administraiton when it says
that Unless we save food for France,
it will starve.
Yet this is the actual state of af
fairs. France is in desperate need
of all the food we cat) send it. The
reason "our soldiers who are over
there do not know the real cond
tion of things is that at the front or
in their camps there is no food
shortage Uncle Sam sees to that
liveu iu visiting the French home's
the utie state affairs is not bared to
the American soldier: K The French
are a proud race and do not enjoy
showing their discomforts to their
guests Furthermore, they will do
anything to make an American feel I front of the bakeries waiting their
at home among them, even though to
do so meansusing alt their montn s
snKar supply.
Also, since the American soldier
n the best paid soldier in the
x world, he cn affofd to buy what
' little food there is . on the' French
"market without realizing tha the
majority of .the French inhabitants
themselves cannot jifford to pay the
high prices that thr scarcity of food
in France creales. r -
i All these tilings account for the
American soldier writing home that
. there is nonfood shortage in France.
-The true staleof ffairs,..howeve.r,
is revealed by a letter recently re
ceived at the United StatesfooH ad
ministration by one of its members
who has made a careful study of food
conditions in France. In tin's letter
"special mention is made of Bou
logne. But food conditions here
may be taken as typical of many
towns in France.
llt bread in Boulogne, accod
ing"to the writer, 'is very bad, oe
ing dark brown in color and very
coarse in 'texture. The prefect
showed me telegrams a whole
stack of thent from the mayors of
various towns and villages in his de
partment saying that their bread
supplies had given "out completely
and wiring in haste formore. You
can -imagine what this means to a
people, 52 per cent of whose diet is
composed, of bread."
"We pent the day," the writer
continues again, going to several
towns closer to the line, stopping at
Calais, Aire and St. Omer, and went
into th bakeries that were still open
in each town, In many places there
were queues, of people standing in
PHOTO v
turn to get their squall rations of
bread and the vilest sort of bread
at that. Ia some places it was made
partially of buckwheat flour, and in
others they eked it out with chestnut
flourf which gave it a very unpleas
ant odor. '. i r"-
"Other food supplies' wete not
plentiful. The mayors of the towns
complained a great deal about the in
fluence purchases by ' the soldiers
had on the local markets.
"What butter, eggand fruit there
were wis bought by' the' soldiers.
Those dealers who had supplies
and these were few often refused to
sell them to the civilians and held
them for the, prices they could getljtreet
from the military " , MsmalL
J V
Conservation League i,
Slvows How . Ingenuous -1
Cope With H. C. L.J
Thrift week, December 18, was !
observedi in several of the school j
districts by appropriate programs, '
followed by discussions of house-1
hold problems. . f
The Lothrop schobl district held"!
its thrift meeting December 3 at the
home of Mrs. Maynard C. Cole, 1915
Lothrop street, with 26 women
present. The program, consisting
of singing and talks by the women
of the district, developed a great
deal .ofntercst and'' demonstrated
the value of the meeting. A ro(rr
was giver! over to the display of the
articles discussed and labor-savinf;
devices of various kinds.
The following program was car
ried out: Music, "Star Spanglec
Banner," accompanied by Mrs. A. S
Pinto. Reading. "Mr. Hoover's
Message" Mrs. Herman K. Lehmer
Short talks with illustration?
"Household! Administration anc
Bookkeeping System" by Mrs R. E
Winkeltrujn. "Economy in Little
. Girls' Clothing'by Mrs. E. J. Simp
son. '"Economy in Little Boys'
Clothing" by Mrs. J. P. Shuran and
Mrs. L. E. Conk'lin. '"Economy in 1
nome uyeujg oy iurs. n, a.
Knappf "Fuel' Conservation" by
Mrs. C. H. Sayidge.
Mrs. A. S. "Pinto snowed a fine
storm coits which had, been made
from an old automobile coat. The
coat had beeirripped apart, washed
and pressed, turned andjmade up on
the wrong side. The coat is of fine
material and could not be dupli
cated for $60. -Mrs. Charles Powe!!
told.of a little boy's coat made from
a fine army coat. Mrs. Hollis John
son and Mrs. M. C. Cole showed
what could belone with coats and
suits dyed and made over into
dresses, each one wearing puch a
costume. Mrs. Rodman Brown
gave a short talkillustrating that
women of affairs today do not at
tach so much importance to dresses
as fofrnerly, yet such women are al
ways appropriately gowned.
Mrs. Howard P, Gates read a very
interesting artfcle on "What to Do
with Cast-offs." Fjfteen minutes
was given-over to open discussion.
There were many other splendid
meetings at the Farnam, Saunders,
Walnut Hill. Yates, Beals, B ensotv
anH athctrschools, but owing to the
prevalence of influenza and the
car strike the attendance was
-r-V-: i.
'J.
Society Turns to
Rel Cross Work
andHappy Xmas
Winter Dancing Club
Will Bring Younger
Set Together Dur
ing Holidays.
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4&
r.
EVERY one is working busily
for the oprning of "the Red
Cross drive. The headquarters are
1) tling and peeping in between the
huge posters pasted on Hf windows
we saw everyone there. Of course
parties are nil again, so those whe
are still hale and hearty are djayot
ing all their time to making thi
drive a great success.
-Mrs. Frank Judson is wonderfull)
.proud of her roll call slogan and w
don't blame her for it's very original
and appealing. ' She stopped us o
the street the other day to tell us
about, it and to show us one of tin
lovely cards, designed by our clevei
artist, Miss Helen Eastman.
Things are a bit quiet, we must
admit. Even the army folk are not
entertaining, and only a foursome at .
Hinner or perhaps a cup of tea and
a friend or two relieves the monot
ony these December days.Plani f
are progressing rapidly for the Vic- .
tory Christmas, however. ' Mrs. E. ;
W. Crockett at Fort Crook, assisted :
by a number of the officers' wives,
will trim the huge tree, and on Mon
day evening, December 23, all the
men at the post will be honor guestSt .'
at a real Christmas party. The huge .
branches of an evergreen will bend-
beneath fieir burden, for there wilV !
be a gift for every soldier, gay with
red ribbons and holly. The women
of the Service league are responsible
for the idea and have expended
every effort to pass along the Christ
mas spirit.
" Soinswonderful parties are being
planned for the holidays. Christmas .
night the younger set will have a
cotillion at the new Athletic club,
and with the men home from the
(forts, what could be jollier? The
X9W Year's eve party is to surpass
all others, we hear.
Wehave had'a hint as to, the fa
vors, and they are really works ol .
art. There will be a little dinnet
arid dancing will follow until thef
bells ring out announcing the om-
-ing of the glad .New Year.
One of the , gay little affairs fot .
the yuletide will be the opening f
dance tftl'ct Winter Dancing club.
-Afa miu'tiiig of the directors, held .
Saturday sit the Henshaw hotel, the
final plans fere completed for a
beautiful Christmas party.. .Many
of the members -will be home on ;
leave, and others are returning to--stay
after a long absence in the
service of Uncle Sam.
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American Mothers May
Be Proud of Their Boy's
Record While in France
A
,iVfH.fl SXUOIO PHOTO
KtHEHAHT-SUrniiS f6T9
Where Intelligencejahd Beauty Are Combined
On a nippy December morning
there is nothing so exhilarating as
a walk downtow, not alone for
health's sake, but that one may see
the pretty business grls. The days
are past when woman's most ardu
ous task was to pour the oolong
into the SeVres, for the huge ,time
clock of' dqty has called many an
attractive maid from the land of
4 o clock teas to the realm of roll
The trailing filminess of the tea gown
has been discarded for the smart
blue serge of the business suit and
be-furred and low-heeled, you pass
these young womten of an early
morning with a smile on their lips
but a purposeful light in their eyes.
Numbered among these young
business women is Miss Marearet
.Cott, who is a traffic manager, if
you please, and the only one in
Omaha. The responsibility of her
position does not seem to awe this
attractive girl in the least, for she
finds such jV in her work'that she
accomplishes her various and com
plexing duties with little effort. '
Two charming sisters, Misses
Ruby and Pearl Klingbeil, entered
their, business' career together. In
surance, with all its technicalities.
kinds of sport. Her work fascinates
her, too, but she plans her duftes so
that there is still a little time left
for Outdoor activities.
Hostilities have ceased and the
valiant sons of America whp an
swered their country's call, will soon
return to'follow the peaceful pur
suits of life, but will the girls who! ''.'to their daily work are the attrac
top desks and clicking typewriters. Llured these young women and they
find policies far more interesting
than parties. ' . J
The joys of following the elusive
white ball over the rolling green of
the links, and the delights oi brisk
canters through tire park have been
sacrificed by Miss Mary Gait that
she might take her place in tme busy
wqrk-a-day world. Aliss Gant is
very athletic and delights in all
have had a taste of the life have
matlf a place for themselves in
t 'mid the hum and bustle of the
busy world be content "to sit on a
cushion and sew a fineeam?" We
hear much of the new eralor women
and it is most probable that milady;
will be loath to resign her new in
dependence when the men return, .
The days of the debutante may
hae been, forever relegated to the
past for it seems that "Yours of the
10th instant received"-over the now-
book, has supplanted, "My dear,
have you heard" over the tea cups.
Omaha girls have indeed followed
in the footsteps of their eastern sis
ters for they answered the call of
industry without hestRation and
four of he prettiest young women
who bring beauty and intelligence
tive quartet pictured here.
For French Children
-Committee for Devastated France,
Mrs. Arthur . . Crittenden Smith,
chairman. Miss May Mahouey, vice
chairman, reports $l,6i- realized
from, the Christmas stockings. This
mearfs that 10,000 toys, mittens and
packages of candy will go from
Orriaha-and Nebraska to the 'little
children of France to make their
holidays happy4
'By' DR. JENNY B. MERRILL.
j The phenomenal success of Amer
ican boys at the front after an, un
usually short military training was C
not only a cause of thankfulness, but ,
indicated that American mothers'
methods of discipline lfed not beec ),
so indulgent nor lax in the past as
.some--'' good critics have feared.
There has been a blessing in dis
guise in the free action and self-assertion
that are allowed American
children, '
Fiftyvyears ago, a little-book en
titled Children's Rights," appeared
in this country. Perhaps it went too
far, but children had suffered -long
from too great severity. Herbert -v
Spencer in England wrote of chil-
dren's rights as well as of women's. :
fThewords of progressive thinkers
on botn sunjects were neeaea. J-atei ' .
from Sweden,' Ellen Key sent out
"The Century of the Child." Later
yet, from -Italy, came Dr. Montes-,
s(-ri's outcry against suppression ol .
the child by arbitrary discipline, and
her advocacy of discipline "based '
upon liberty."
Probably all of these leaders di
rectly or indirectly gained much of
their inspiration andguidance-from '
Froebef, who dared to write even in
Germany, "Follow the Child."
yFroebel, the founder of the 'kin- ,
dergarten, was German, but not
Ptissian. Prussia soon recognized '
that "democracy" would be the out- - :
come"' of his method and promptly ;
r 'Prophet wa in a cnsp a tnartvr -
and died disappointed with his
own nation's rejection of the kinder- ,
garten, but with his "eye of faith"
he turned hopefujly towards Amer-
ica, on which country he proclaimed :;
his ideas would flourish under demo
cratic protection and guidance.
Mothers of America, many of
them, as well as teachers, have
studied kindergarten principles for'.
50 vars and have again and again "V
testified to their value.
"Wha are these principles?" Read
Miss Efnilie Toulsson's "Love ang '
Law in Child Training." Thjs maj
be fqund in almost any library o, ;
can be bought from the publishers, vv
Milton Bradley Co., Springfield,
Mass. Its very title suggests the.'.
kindcrgattcnV principles love and
law, but not license.
"A soft answer turneth away
wrath." "Grievous words", are '
p.vided ' because centuries ago it
was discovered that they "stir tip :-:
anger." There are no loud, shrill .
toresr but rather quiet, decided em
phnsis, ifned be.. '. v -
"Vain repetitions" having proved ;
theihselves useless, the wise toother '
accept the terseirtatement that "in
discipline one can hardly speak little
enough."
Xo doubt American mothers have
s'.ill much to learn, but well mav
mey iaKe neart trom their hi
Od inI rante
cir boys' rec-