Omaha
UND
PART TWO
SOCIETY SECTION
PART TWO
SOCIETY SECTION
JJL JLJt jf
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
VOL. XLVIIINO. 81.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, JANpARY 12, 1919.
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What Will
The Answer
Be to This?
Will Women Leave the
Jobs They Volun
teered to Fill? V
DEMOBILIZING 4.000,fM) men
is a huge undertaking, but the
reconstruction, and re-estab
lishing civil life, is a much greater I
one. ratriotism! 1 hat was the flag
waving before every true American
woman when the men were called
from our midst for army duty. Had
t not been for the women, indus
:ry would have suffered a paralytic
stroke from which it might have
'aken many years to recover. Hut
:he women did come forward and
'.hey did prove their fitness for the
positions left vacant by men. And
from the different heads of our gov
rrnmental machinery conies the
tad tidings that the war could not
liave been won, but by the ceaseless
efforts of the women. .
But here crimes the next question
to be. decided. The war is over.
Our soldiers are rapidly being
turned back into civilians which is
just as disturbing as it was to take
them away, so far as business and
industry are concerned
, Let us remember that this is no
age for mere dolls whose einpty
headedness is supposedly cleverly
concealed under .temptingly . ar
ranged' curls and whose extravagant
phrases are meant to hide the lack
of ideas. Women have proven that
ihey are real flesh and blood beings
with intellect and will power. They
were forced into this life of pro
duction and now that the boys are
coming back are they to tie forced
out? Or will they, after tasting of
the full jug of life, be willing to go
back to the lap of leisure without
being asked to do sg?
The arguments printed on this
page letters from those whosee
many angles 'are intensely interest
ing because they bring forth the
various individual situations. They
present not only the patriotic side,
hut the economic and domestic
phases of lif during reconstruction.
Miss Elizabeth Wentworth Rob
erts of Concord, Mass., from the be
ginning of the European war in 1914
has made it her invariable practice
to turn over all the money she Jias
received for her various paintings
to the various war relief funds, and
now that the war is over she finds
that she has. in this manner donated
more than $10,000.
The first society actress on the
American stage was Mrs. Anna
Cora Mowatt. a brilliant author,
nlavwriifht-and actress, the centen
nial of whose birth will be observedj
this year. 'i
Battle Ground of Public
A Man's Opinion.
"And the Lord God said': 'It is
not good that the man should be
alone. I will make him au help meet
for him'."
Thus it was in the beginning. Ev
ery story of the creation, in what
ever tongue it may be told, starts
with a man and a woman. Heaven
and earth alike were peopled thus
from the primeval pair. It is not a
wonder, at all, but the recognition
of the simplest and grandest fact in
nature. The oldest symbol known
to man, the cross, is emblematic of
:his combination of creative and
aroductive functions, and in itself
originally was a sign of life. Sur
"ouned by'"a circle the symbol of
Poseidon it stands for life eternal.
It is ait illuminating fact, also that
man's first assertion of property
rights wa in Jthe. w,oman who ad
ministered to. his comfort; his next
in the pot in which he cooked his
food. This glimmering ray of
dawning light may mean something
in connection with the "war of sex
es" now being debated if not ac'.ual
'y waged.
V Woman has had her share war
Iways, from the dear old days
when she followed her lord into bat
Vie for the cheerful task of cutting
tip the . remains, down until now,
when she took up the work the men
laid down and kept machinery mov
ing that the business of war might
not be checked for want of material
to work with or on. In the days5
of the civil war woman was thrust
into various occupations that; had
beenclosed to her. She was in
stalled in store and office, and otRer
places from which she has never
been ousted. ' She also 'made some
headway in various mechanic trades,
but gradually receded from many of
them, although in the textile, shoe
making, garment making and similar
. industries, she not only held, her
own, but made headway as the busi
ness grew. In Europe she had
long been accustomed to work in
shop and mine,' in field and factory.
, In the "black district" of England
woman at the forges hammered out
chains at a pitiful pay, while in Bel
gium's collieries they tugged at
loads that would have discouraged
a donkey. In Germany, in France,
in Russia, even in "Sunny It," the
woman knew the burden of toil, slav
ish and brutal.
Therefore, woman iafar from be
ing a novelty in the industrial or
commercial field, nor has the war
w idened, especially the scope of her
employment. It hasT3ettered her
economic condition, however, be
cause she forced her wages up to a
higher level. In this connection
it may be well to record that or
ganized labor has not objected to
woman in industry on account of
her sex, but only because she" was
a menvre to wajjes. ' Once, in the
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early years of the 19th century, a
pahamentary inquiry brought out
that in great factory districts wo
men were employed in the mills
while the men were . doing the
housework and caring for the chil
dren, because wages were so low
men would not work for the prices
paid. Labor unions have insisted
steadfastly for equality between the
sexes so far as wages go equal pay
for equal work being the rule.
Woman will not go back to
where she was in 1914. No earthly
power could put her back. Her
presence in the industrial and com
mercial life of the world will con
tinue, subject to' 'the restrictions
that always have and always will
affect her. Soon or late she will
feel the impulse of nature, and turn
to the function to perform which
she was brought into existence. In
good time, the economic balance
will be established, just , as it has
been, and the competition between
the man and the woman for th jjjb
will be no more acrimonius than in
the past.
The immediate questiort, whether
the woman should give back to
the man the job he held before he
put on the uniform has but one
answer in good morals and sound
ethics. In. all fairness and justice
to herself, she should, turn over to
him the place that was his when he
was called on for sterner duty. The
Splendid relation of genuine com
radeship and-: true heipmeetism
should not be embittered by a post
bellum wrangle over employment
in a world where there will be work
enough for everybody who can
work. . A COLONEL.
The Children's Call
Woman has stepped into her
own. Old shackles have been
broken by the force of the world
war, and women steps forth free
from bondage and slavery.
The women who so nobly worked
to help free the world need no long
er sit idly by while men rule the
world. Now she may take her right
ful place with men. There is no
avenue of business or commerce
which does not lie open to het
She will assume her new place
and her, new responsibilities with
the same clear intellect and ability
with which she accepted the mil
lions of war jobs in which she ac
quitted herself jwith so much
glory.
Glorious womanhood! It was
yours to give your sons to, fight for
world peace, and it was yours to
help those boys to a final victory.
Now it is yours to accept your part
nership in the affairs of the world to
keep the world safe for honor, ,iber
tv and justice.
r No one will deny that women are
needed in the business world today.
Duty calls them. In every today
Opinion
walks a tomorrow, and the. children
of tomorrow are whispering for
womento continue to help the
world. Reforms begin in the busi
ness world. Women are helpless to
aid affairs if they sit idly at home.
Homes are ruled by laws and dom
inated by customs maf'de in the 1'iis
iness world and women must influ
ence business life before laws for
the home and the family can be re
formed. , ,
Men have learned,that women are
their equals and already listen vheu
women speak. The scepter of pow
er has been given to woman. She
ma.y teach men to "temper justice
with mercy" and to put into prac
tice all of the divine teachings of
Christianity.
Women will not abandon the op
portunity which has been won for
her by bloodshed and suffering. She
will not step .back quietly into the
seclusion of . home life without mak
ing use of the privileges which are
hers; she will speak and the world
will listen; she will act and the
world will be changed. We are
facing a real democracy and the
queen of the new order of things is
free wn,anhood unshackled by the
bonds which formerly kept her away
from the business and affairs of the
world. By M. A. G.
A YoungWife.
Why this widespread condemna
tion of the married woman who re
tains her job now that her husband
has been discharged from the serv
ice'1 .
"The same patriotic spirit' which
prompted women to take the places
of their husbands in industry should
induce thtm to give fSp their jobs
now that the war is over, those in
charge of employment bureaus say.
Why doesn't some one try to
help young married couples solve
thein. problems instead of narrow
mindedly branding the woman ' as
"unpatriotic."-
Do you want to know why she
doesn't give up her job? Quite sim
p'y shecan't afford to. Economic
necessity is greater than patriotism.
The crave of food is more urgent
than the love for flag.
Rent, the price of food, clothing,
in fact the whole cost of living has
advanced since the men were called
to the colors. Doctors and dentists'
bills, insurance. Liberty bonds, war
drives and countless other demands
"have piled themselves up. Thirty
dollars (a soldier's pay) a month
didn't leave much to save and there
wouldn't be much left of a man's
first month's salary after he was dis
charged, if he had to buy a suit of
civilian clothes. Then there is the
extra expense of reopening a home,
express charges, gas, water and elec
tric, light deposit funds, etc.
No wonder the wife has to keep
her job. . Something drastic will
i have to be done either in increasing
16 &.
dancittG YtocJL
anJ&issyZtJIPCor
1 1 v J
as traveling sales- ?.
woman.
0Ao6os
Stejfens
the pay or reducing the cost oMiv
ing before the average paid office
employe cankfford to establish his
home again in the beforehe-war
manner or his wife can be released
from her involuntary and unnatural
phice in industry. A WIFE.
Service to Humanity!. Shucksji
I just read your article in last
Sunday's paper about our society
"war work ladies." I don't know
any good they did. They only
dolled themselves up in beautiful
uniforms and made a grand show
of themselves here in Omaha dur
ing the war. Some of them even
had to give themselves "commis
sions'1 and wear bars denoting
their "rank" on the shoulders of
their $150 uniforms.
These poor society women prob
ably never earned a dollar in their
life, and don't know any harder
work than sitting in their Pa:kafd
cars and driving about town. Some
of them were so patriotic that they
discharged one of their chauffeurs
and drove their car fiemselv'es some
times after having purchased an ex
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A:.,
pensive uniform and shoes and leg
gins and hats and everything to
match 1 Some patriots! Some self
denial! ; I
But, of course, the society women
wanted to get in the swim. So they
grabbed all these show-off jobs and
dolled themselves up in uniforms
and. judging by the way they acted,
you'd have thought they were win
ning the war all by themselves.
What they ought to have been
doing was stay at home and make
fudge-or more likely get the hired
girl to make it, because I don't
Lthink most of them even know how
to do thit much coojcing.
"Service to humanity!" Shucks!
Humanity would have been, a lot
better off if these impractical inef
ficient women had kept their hands
out of affairs that required practical,
economical, wise, commonsense
management.
The women that ought to have
the credit are the' common workers
in the Red Cross workshops and the
canteens and many other places, do
ing an honest day's work in an effi
cient manner and without any social
r
glory or any $150 uniforms or any
shoulder bars. There were such
women in Omaha by the thousands
and they did the work iij spite of
being hampered by those would-be
leaders who set themselves up above
those who were really capable.
Give the glory to the women in
the "rank and file" who did the real
work and practiced real self-denial.
A BEE READER. .
Babies or Bonds?
Women can make good in the
business world they have demon
strated that without a doubt. Their
work during the awful chaos- of
war has been both wonderful and!
marvelous. But although war forced
them to step down to the- lower
plane of commercial life for awhile,
every true man and woman knows
that their place is something inr
finitely higher and nobler the
home.
Some women have wrong ideas
and assume a false attitude in these
days of war work. They have learn
ed that they can do man's work and
are inclined to insist that they be
Pretty Pat McCoy Says
Her Jpb is a Woman's
"It's a Great Old Game if You Don't Weaken," She
Says, as She Sighs and Starts on
Another Trip 1
PAT McCOY! That's what we
see on her business card. And
the jard states that Pat Mc
l i.y is special representative for a
linn selling plumbing surirtlies but
there isn't the tiniest hint that Pat
is a petite, brunette girl of 21 years
with laughing brown eyes. Nor
does this card mention the fact that
Pat is the only girl in the country
selling plumbing supplies; nor that
she visits the camps and canton
ments throughout the territory west
of the Mississippi and lands many
an order for $25,000 and up.
The mannish cut of Pat's business
suit (pardon, we should' say suits
for Pat still "loves" clothes) only
accentuates her girlishness in
stead of giving her the air of- a
severe business woman. This soft
hat and buckled vest are not filling
their mission for the effect is a
"cute little girl in uniform" instead
of the strictly tailored woman sales
man. Patricia is it? Miss Patricia Mc
Coy? Oh. no, no, not.at all! She's
accepted on an equal footing with
men. They are forgetting that they
have always been honored as better
than men. Women have always
typified the holy virtues purity,
charity, faith and hope. Is it not
absurd then for women to clamor
to be made the equal of men? Wo
men who have always Seen men's
superiors must not be so ready to
relinquish their places of honor.
No real home is a place of drudg
ery. The ideals of home which are
the keys entrusted to women make
home a sanctified place and, al
though there is often "work and a
plenty" to do there, the work is a
labor of love absolutely free from
the atmosphere of commercial life
where the employer's rules are
obeyed and the pay is a pay check
instead of the worthier things, love
and affection.
When all is said and done, no one
can deny that basiness life too cften
rubs oft the blush from a woman's
cheek and leaves in its place a
touch of rouge. .That typifies the
whole change which commercialism
brings to its followers of the fair
just plain Pat McCoy, jr.. and when
mother was sending her little Pat
tie to the Sacred Heart convent she
had no idea that a few years later
this Pat.; jr., would be doing her
best to coTnc up to father's expec
tations of a boy.
"How do I like this work?" she
repeated our question. "Why, I
love it it is fascinating. I love to
get big orders, and make big money
and spend it," she laughed.
"I have heard of the horrors
awaiting the business and profes
sional woman but I must say that
the men I meet have, for the most
part, been 'gentlemen. Many of
them wear rough clothes; my army
officer customers wear uniforms
and many others wear tailored busi
ness suits but they are all gentle
men. I' visit 25 camps and canton
ment? and I find the old world pret- .
ty much alike when it comes to the
humanity part of it. '
"I meet men just as they meet
me. My experience has taught me
to sense atmospheres and I can tell
the minute I enter an office whether
the proprietor's car is working or
whether his domestic affairs ran
smoothly that morning. If h
meets me in a snappy, bustling
manner, I am just as brisk and
have the 'blank line' ready to be
signed before he has time to tire of
me. If he is in a joking mood I
may smile and joke a bit about the
weather or the service star I wear
for the regiment I sent over my
regiment of sweethearts or some
other light, noncommittal some
thing." "But, Pat, tell us how you got
this job selling plumbing supplies,"
we insisted.
"Same way same way, I suppose.
Only let' me tell you this much
the job was the hardest sale I ever
made. My firm seemed to think
that selling their line was strictly
a man's job but I have proven that
it is a woman's," she laughed. "My
sales are larger than most of the
men's- who were selling plumbing
supplies when I was born."
Arid Pat, in her pleasant, smiling
way convinces you that what she
says is true. She also convinces
you that she is alt woman, tender
hearted and all those things which
are supposed to be perquisites of
the fair sex. - " ' .
Is Pat hardened to the bitter old
world? Not a bit of it. Why, there
is a tear right back of every smile
if you speak harshly to her The
great blessing is that nobobdy
wishes to speak harshly to Pat,
whos; manner is always pleasant,
courteous and whose personality is
like a spring breeze wafted over the
last dull drab of winter. She is
always welcome in every office.
Miss McCoy has proven tocher
firm that she is not a "first order
man" because her business has in
creased on every trip. Many of her
customers wait for her and have
large orders ready when she reaches
their city. '
"Now that you are out in the
business world like a regular man,
what do you think of this momen
tous question of women taking
men's jobs?" We asked.
"Good gracious no, women do nbt
takemen's jobs I There are plenty
for all of us and a job is mine, oi
yours, or a soldier's whoever fill!
it best. I never could see why a jol
belonged to one sex or the other
Men have always sold plumbing
supplies, but believe me, this is mj
job and every trip I make prove!
it more conclusively to my firm
I'd like to see a man get it awaj
from nie. Why, my expense ao
countis a great deal less than the
man's. I have no entertaining tc
do, no drinks to buy, no cigars
nothing bu$ my actual expenses
When my day's work is over I gc '
to my hotel and rest or write letters
or do any othe thjng I choose -which
means nothing in the way ol '
expanse to my firm." -'
These statements were all. truc
and her argument for women and
against big expense accourrts were
sound. Then instead of wondering
why Pat was 'selling plumbing sup
plies we began to wonder, why
many women were-not selling them.
And we were glad to learn that most
all trfcn we're friendly and few of
them "fresh," from a girl who
kpows.
As we wished her good luck on
her trip, when she left for the smir.
ny smith, she " smiled, through a
serious mood and aid: "lt'Sv a
great old game if you don't weaken."
sex. Contact with sordid business
problems, and crafty co'mpet-'tion
gradually dull the fine sensibilities
of women just as surely as soot
besmirches snow. Sometimes the
change is gradual, but a few years
in business life will leave -effects
which lime can never eradicate.
Advocates of "women in business"
talk too much about "leisure, fudge
boxes and dancing parties." Most
home women have no more of the
foolish luxuries of life than the busi
ness girl. Instead most of them
are busy with the care of homend
children. No one will dispute that
the woman who raises and cares for
children has don a nobler work
than her business sister who has
sold bonds.
Babies or bonds? That's the ques
tion, and true women, even when
they can sell Liberty bonds. just as
well as. men, realize that the more
womanly work is more blessed and
will not turn from the sacred place
for which nature has fitted them
for a common office desk in the
business world.
A BRIDE TO BE.