Show idea of the L lives 9 ves led by women woman of america beca 0 HI LADELPHIA the leda er of this city shea the ons of marc debroe s study of the rich young boman of america recently appearing in the nouvelle revue of pans paris mr debral traveled much in this country bt his abject at close range and even the foung women omen themselves will find the of his convictions inter g to say the least AMERICAN GIRLS THEIR MISSION by marc debral seems to be no visible dit dif ference between the young girl and the young married woman they wear very much the same gowns the same jewels and behave in III about the same way there is no such thing as an in genue any more the american woman feels no ob I 1 gation to watch over her home her enormous fortune mal es it hary tary from her point of view she is not a natural housekeeper and hab has no love for pursuits that oblige her to keep still like delicate needlework needle worl and fine embroideries she prefers sports and active amusements that take her out of doors she may sing about her home sweet home but she is quite wi I 1 ing to get awaa awa from it A great many prefer to live in hotels rather than to be bothered with tile care of a louse ty seems to frighten them they the watch over their children s education after a certain fashion but they dread the comin coming 9 of a child and 1001 upon it ai an impediment they have no vocation for maternity in fact they fear its suffer its pans pa ns and its duties A convincing proof of this was published recently in one of the american nevis newspapers papers in one of the large apartment houses in new i lork ork arranged to accommodate a number of tenants families were installed and these families had 20 chil dren all told figures that are more elo eloquent luent than words these rich nea in another and it sometimes ta ses ces an hour to go from his house to his off offee ce he leaves home in the morning and returns only at night having lunched at his club or in some res aurant aarant downto downtown young women very seldom venti re into this part of downtown do and many wives have never been in their husbands offices indeed they I 1 now but little e about their affairs the things that absorb the man mans s life are of no interest to the woman she asks no questions as to wh ali re the money comes from that is given to her provided only that she gets enough of it her L fe a busy one during this daily absence of her husband the wife entertains her in dimate friends at luncheon in some restaurant or takes them with her to teas and matinees she leads a busy life as a member of society descended from immigrant ances tors she is tremendously attached to the country her forefathers have built up but she is conscious at the same time of her affil allons with the na eions of europe she is a most pa yankee but is alo a cosmo politan her very independence makes her un table and very changeable As she has lias not been educated in any bradt eions and is not held to any inherited line of conduct by acquired hab t or ce she is what she makes herself she develops freely like a young tree that has never been pruned the daughter of a is race she has an astonishing vitality an excess of energy and will power as it were but fortune and the con dit oss ons 1 actual existence tree free he fro from all nece sity of employing her resources sources rp to any good purpose she does not have to earn her daily bread nor struggle to take care of herself the law protects her but in addition to its physical vigor the american race possesses an aston ashing intellectual energy the men expend this force in the intense ef fort that directs all their labor in one channel to one end money making the rich american woman has not p 41 W q k 11 pia JL YV Y V cluva ar i I 1 Z e acks I 1 THE IDEAL young women have taken vows quite different from thoe of guardians of the hearthstone they have married men who are prominent in the world of affairs and their business Is to spend tie fortunes that their bus bands are piling up day by day with as much as possible this be comes is iv a way their mission in so biety adepts in spend ng money sue would make an admirable wife for a millionaire has been said of avny a charm ng and beautiful but poor young girl in this case oblige the women are partners who bring their brilliance their elegance and their social rela giors into an association in which the other partner supplies the money in such a union each one has a certain part to play the one must know how to make money but the other must have the art of spending it and the american woman is past mistress in this art the husband works to give the wife hr her house in a good neigh boyhood her cottage at newport her gov goans ns her jewels of the best and her trips to europe in short to surround her with the luxury that she requires and what does she give in ex changed her beauty and what is of even greater importance her deputa tion ion as a woman of the world con jugal life becomes in this way a separate sepal ate existence in which each one goes his own way the wife to her social obligations and the husband to ils his business affairs he lives in one part of town and transacts bis his busl bust this resource she has no occupation and there is consequently a great disparity between her natural abilities and the use she makes of them the evil of D vorce As we have said she has little by little d the normal and aradi dional duties of her sex commencing with the idea of duty to the family in po nt of fact the family in this country has not sufficient prestige or unity to dacome the main object of a woman s existence or to bind her to a hearthstone that is very often only temporary the facility of divorce is a menace to our country said mrs tatt taft the vie wife of the president of the united states recently it Is an evil that is increasing in of grow ing less when a nation is suffering from a laxity of morals and family bonds can be broken for a hast word a greater danger threat ens such a nation than can arise from any war with th outside world in truth the wife cannot attach herself solely and absolutely to a hearth that she may turn her back on tomorrow it if such be her good pleas ure social questions fall to arouse her enthusiasm or at least they only in terest her as an amateur since she has no need to struggle on her own account woman in the united slates states occupies a more privileged position in the eyes of the law than anywhere else in the world schools unive cities women s work clubs assoria eions for relief and charity all are classified and organized officially it is useless to be made a lady pa and go about visiting the ioor i N ho can lan b mich mi ch mo e directly I 1 and effectively rell relieved eved through chai burea s one feld fold alone Is left open for tle rich boman as an outlet for I 1 er mental and morl moral energy and that is society she brings to it all ter ardor her ambition and her ac tive and undivided individuality mdavid bality her ma n object in life to go fast straight ahead to move about in the open laugh fidget chat ter to rush here and there without any object bat to feel ones one a self alive and use up one ones s abundant ener gy nothing could be more symbolic of all this than the american worn wom an ans s beloved rocking chair even in repose she swings to and fro and must nave movement even when she is motionless it is this same unemployed vitality that drives the young yankee to 6 such uch extremes of exuberance she is prone to enthusiasm and addicted to super specially in adverbs of man ner like awfully and absolutely she adores or haces hates everything Is st nning or else horrid she loves chocolates and is crazy about a dog her thoughts are ejected in phrases and exclamations she has no balance and even less constancy her enthusiasms do not last long her friendships are infatuations and the comrade of the moment Is more like a favorite whose day Is sure to be a short one it Is impossible to maintain her affections at such a high pitch when they reach the point that they can grow no greater they break down of themselves like beautiful 17 4 4 r A M I 1 1 THE REAL f res of straw that often flare up again from their ashes and this is easily explained her Polmira admiration tion is governed by no rule her enthusiasm controlled by no law her feelings are spontaneous and she is unmindful almost unconscious of them moreover the american worn wom an who has no worlds left to conquer since life has given her everything this victorious eve ruler and sov deign the american woman I 1 repeat is isolated by her exceptional brivil ages she becomes a sort of supreme being an idol she forms her own uni verse she knows no object but her own satisfaction and no law but her own desire she is guided by her own caprice and Is herself its first vie tim since she sees that all her wishes come true and no longer knows what to wish for her imagination and her ri taste for romantic adventure impel her to seek excitement she dreams of unattainable or unheard of things that rack her nerves she would rather have the reverse of the medal than the monotonous life that fortune has given her and that she is incapable of idealizing search for happiness A spoiled child of destiny she cries for more and is ready to admit mira cles if only chance will work some in her favor it is to eel herself alive that she marries on a moment s impulse elopes flirts divorces her husband and takes tales up with the weirdest religions she wants to be happy and not knowing how to ere ore ate happiness from her ter duties and through her affections she seeks it in the outer world the american woman Is complete in herself her will is absolute and in flexible her personality unchangeable and necessarily selfish extremely feminine in her movement and charm civilized externally to the utmost point of refinement in all that con cerns corns physical well being luxury and pleasure ire tre same delicacy ot of feel feet ing hs not yet penetrated to her soul her skin has bar become before her heart just as tb th rain wets the surface but tal tales es a long time to soak luto into the eldden springs tho the daughters of social newcomers perhaps the children of wording peo pie they have had to pass alone through the stage that separates the lower from ile tl e upper classes in the second generation with us the type is mod f fed ed said a new york woman the hands are less coarse the manners have changed and th the grandchildren of a v are al ready gentlemen it is the money thai that does it money that clothes and adorns adorne and magnifies mag nines everything yea yes money does tt it but it is not mone alone it raa las to be coined into train ing into education and intelligence and it is the young american women who have accomplished this miracle who by the side of the man who is if the money getter and nothing else have acquired grace elegance and the manners of polite society and who with the dollars put into theli thell hands havo have assisted at the birth ol 01 arts and letters and the establish ment of social life and that was gainly an admirable and noble task sees much brome e in future american women may lack the dell dolt cacy of touch that comes only from experience they may still have some where about them a little of th thi roughness of a new race they may bi more sensual than sensitive more passionate than tender more selfish than devoted more superficial than profound but they are also sli more vigorous younger in the true meaning of the word they must have time to learn to control their instincts to bow before conventions and yield to compromise they must have time to abdicate themselves into unison with the old ways that are indulgent just because they have lasted so long but it Is easy to foresee their rapid evolution to day these women have nerves tomorrow to morrow they will have learned to weep to day they adapt themselves but very soon they will begin to originate at present they are brilliant but in the time to come they will appeal more to the feelings to this brilliance which is universally acknowledged they will add the warmth of sensibilities patiently acquired and ripened by ad varsity Is such an evolution to be desired however mat that may be their role la is an enviable one and their mission a high one they have brought a love of beauty into this eminently practical country and against the back pack ground of their unlovely towns they project their picturesque turnouts their alluring silhouettes the rustling of their skirts shirts and the ringing chimes of their daughter they make a she shor while the men get the money like skillful envoys they go over to europe and bind yet closer the ties between the two continents cre creating atin 4 a oon constant stant interchange between them through their desire to learn and ta to fill their minds winds with impressions ot of beauty that can be transplanted to their beloved america to embroider new st stars P rs on her flag to plant flow ers on the terraces of their 40 story buildings in short to carry back to their own country that of which it 11 stands most in need of a little beau ty a little flexibility and a little ideal ity and tor for this they deserve well of their country |