The Sunday Oregonian., October 13, 1912, SECTION SIX, Page 3, Image 71

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A WEEK
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THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 13, 1912.
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CAN a woman make a happy home
for herself and husband if she la
bora outside? '
Should she Increase her husband's
Income by becoming a wage earner or
should she save it by dispensing with
a servant? ,
Is it not an economic waste to com
pel a woman with a $40-a-week brain
to spend ber time and efforts In a $6-a-week
Job?
All these are questions that have
been discussed and rediscussed from
every possible angle during the past
score of years, and yet no sufficient
answer has ever been made' to them,
although hosts of able arguments have
been advanced on both sides of the
problem. Whether a happy and con
tented home Is compatible with busi
ness success on the woman's part, or
vice versa, are still moot questions,
which apparently must be decided pure
ly on the individual case and for which
no general rules may be laid down.
Of course the very fact that the
question has repeatedly come up for
discussion argues that the wage-earning
wife has scored a point and a big
one. Fifty years ago she could not have
been upheld or opposed, because as an
economic factor she did not exist
Yet today she plays an Important
part In the social and commercial life
of every community and the efforts of
A Remarkable Story of
a Remarkable Man
HAMMERSTEIX'S SEXTEX'CES
OX LIFE.
The greatest thing "in life Is to find
some work which can be under
taken and carried out with Joy and
delight.
e
(tome men are crushed by failure be
cause of some weakness In them
selves. There Is neither disgrace
nor real power in failure. No one
should be discouraged by it. The
strongest and best men have failed,
and not because of want of pur
pose, energy or character.
Remember this a man must have
faith In himself. In a sense he
must be his own most appreciative
and eulogistic critic. For If he
does not do it for himself no one
will trouble to do It for him.
My advice is to tell and retell the world
what you have done and who you
are. Never mind the accusation of
braggart. Names and abuse come
naturally In the course of life.
Manhood is a struggle, but-a struggle
of brain against brain, of ability
against ability, of will against will,
of ambition against ambition a
struggle not without its invlgo ra
tion and delight
A FEW days ago I called on Oscar
Hammersteln to have a little chat
with him on, the comedy or trag
edy called life. I have known him
some years and have seen him from
many sides and in many relationships.
It Is hardly necessary to say that the
Hammersteln of the cartoon and of
popular imagination is a very different
person from the Hammersteln of actu
ality. I remember, for Instance, a
vaudeville sketch in which he was rep
resented as saying every few minutes,
"Have a cigar?" And the repetition of
this question was regarded by the audi
ence aa something supremely charac
teristic. As a matter of fact, his expansive
ness and communicativeness do not
take the form of doles of cigars at all.
He Is rather a distributer of ideas,
things which are much rarer and more
precious than cigars. Nor are his mind
and mouth full of opera and operatic
schemes and operetta talk.
The opera is a compartment of his
mind, and his mind has many com
partments. The opera is a large com
partment. It la an Important one. But
it is not the only one.
There la the real estate compart
ment. There la the mechanical com-
partment There is a musical and
composition compartment. There Is a
Mrs. Theodore Roberts, Mrs. John Mar
tin and others frighten the married
woman back into her own front yard
are as futile as the fabled commands
of King Canute to the advancing ocean.
The feminine element. In the coun
try's business life steadily increases In
numbers and efficiency. More wo
men every year become economically
independent, and when the question of
marriage enters into their calculations
not easily are they persuaded to re
nounce the privileges and liberties en
Joyed through their association with
commercial life.
Mrs. An tin Give Views.
ONE of the latest to take up the
cudgels in behalf of the wage
earning wife Is Mrs. Mary Austin!
playwright, novelist, suffragist and
student of the psychology of woman
hood. Mrs. Austin is a progressive of
the progressives and an ardent ad
vocate of the "municipal matrimonial
bureau," an institution that will be
designed to assist young folk to meet
a sufficient number of desirable mem
bers of the opposite sex in order to
enable them to exercise a wider choice
In selecting a life partner.
According to Mrs. Austin's ideas the
average young girl does not have an
adequate opportunity to meet enough
desirable and eligible young men, and
this dearth the "municipal matrimonial
financial and business compartment
There must be, though I have never
yet heard Mr. Hammersteln dwell upon
the financial side of his artistic under
takings or mention receipts and box
office statistics as if they were the
gauge of anything or in any way
proved anything.
As far as I have personally noticed
the mathematics of his opera-house
never interested him as much as the
world on his stage and the world is
his auditorium.
Doeaat Believe la Failure.
That he had a humanity compartment
I have long been aware, for In the busi
est days of his wonderful second season
of opera at the Manhattan Opera House
he has often laid aside all affairs which
pressed to Indulge for a period
in a refreshing conversation on
men and things, and whr is bet
ter qualified to talk than he, who
has known so many and achieved so
much? Although Mr. Hammersteln
does not confess to being an optimist,
and equally refuses to range himself In
the gloomy regiment of pesssimists,
his career is distinguished by an ener
getic and astounding hopefulness.
He does not believe in the word "fail
ure." Or If it exists in his vocabulary
he would use it to signify a fresh start
ing point for a new enterprise.
I asked him a few sweeping general
questions.
"What do-yon think of life?" was the
first I put to him.
His answer was oblique.
"I read the other day," said he, "that
a man had received a sentence of Im
prisonment for attempting suicide. If
the law Is Justified in inflicting punish
ment on a man for trying to take his
own life, then It should punish every
one of ns, for most of us are in all
probability pursuing a course of eon
duct that in the end will kill us. Many
of us are carrying burdens greater
than we should bear. v
"I have always refused te carry these
burdens. The greatest thing In life is
to find some work which can be under
taken and carried out with Joy and
delight Men and women would be hap.
pier if their parents In the first place
would devote themselves to discovering
what their children can do and in doing
exceL ,
The force of circumstances often
compels men or women to assume a vo
cation which is entirely antagonistic to
their tastes and abilities. This means
that a whole life will run in one dull
steady groove, in one long line of
drudgery.
"Sometimes it happens that a man I
escapes from that groove and drudgery
by sheer force of will and -character, j
but oftener be drifts into old age a I
t-ureau," as It Is planned, will offset.
Moreover, Mrs. Austin firmly believes
that a wife should be permitted to earn
her share of the family's Income, and
to do it without danger of discord or
misunderstanding in the conduct of
her household affairs.
"To me it seems such a dreadful
waste," declared Mrs. Austin, "for a
woman to spend all her time and
thought and energy In cooking and
cleaning for one man. The better cook
and housekeeper the woman is the
greater the waste, viewed economical
ly at least, because she possesses a
quality of intelligence worthy of a
better cause. It Is an economlo
tragedy and ridiculous extravagance
to assign a $40-a-week brain to a $6-a-week
Job.
"All this talk of the preservation of
the home" and the declaration that a
woman cannot be" a good wife and
mother and at the same time hold a
position in commercial life is, to my
mind, simply balderdash. At the same
time the home today must come la for
very serious criticism, not because It
has been too much changed by the
modern spirit, but because It. hasn't
been changed enough.
Home Has Not Advanced.
S a matter of fact, the home haB
not advanced with the progress
of affairs, nor kept pace with the Te-
BY' ALGERNON ST. JOHN
ill ' . -V
11 7 ' ' ' ?U T J
I fen rte'&i ' I
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mere carrier of burdens, losing each
day in providing for the next.
congenial worn, coupiea witn soua
health, conduces to longevity. I be
lieve that it is not the intention of na
ture to circumscribe a man's life to 70
or 80 years. If he be healthy and
har,DV in his work, if he is carrying
no untoward and probably self-inflicted
burdens he should live much longer.
"Let me tell you what I mean Dy
burdens.
'Some vears ago I bought the piece
of land UDon which steod the build
ing then called Olympia and now the
New York and Criterion theaters. I
paid for the piece of land $1,031,000 and
spent upon the building Sl.500,000.
This part of New lorn was men notn
Insr but a residential district and en-
Joyed none too high a reputation.
'No one believed In it- rto one Im
agined that it had a future. I did. I
placed upon it so small a mortgage as
"A Married Woman Should Either
Have a Regular Allowance From Her
Husband or Be Permitted to Earn Her
Own Money," Says Mrs. Mary
Austin. i( And a Woman Who De
votes All Her Skill to One Man
Represents Economic Waste; the
Better Housekeeper She Is the Greater
Being the Waste."
M 3 Lm l-n
1 . w. V. it.nAalt In
sort of backwater, hopelessly behind
me real current c aiiairs.
, a i. j .1 a i Vi n m m MJ It K
the center of all our activity. It was
the- nucleus arouna wnicn our uaj
lives were momea. xiim iwiuui
said any longer. To-day the home is
little more than a place of residence,
with none of the attrlbuates which we
were wont anciently to assign to It
"We do everything away from home
Whan ii-a ii r-a 111 WA AT.
iivitauaja. n ..i... m ...
Bern, swx irum uwuhj. n i.
especially good things -to eat we go
away from hpme. When we are tired
out we taKe a vacation
. mi . tn h a TT1 11 W"i
noma. wucu wan,.
and entertained we go to -the theater
or the moving pictures or the circuit
anywhere away from home.
"In earlier times the home offered
many Inducements, which It does not
today. No longer does it offer the best
that can be obtained In the way of
food, amusement, sanitation r
rest, although once It stood for all
ih... thtTie-!. It Rlmnlv has not kept
pace with the procession.
At present us uine. aum..- p
- - i .i wh-n one can STO
to U . ,1 in o fcv ew -
nowhere else an address where mail
can be delivered, wars aii. -mm
. v. 4a thttt with the in-
crease of education has come a wider
understanding of life, a demand for
such things as the homes of our an
cestors did not provide and which no
effort has been made to Install In our
homes today.
... . i . . . . - wai -not Tier-
i n limes. pttBt in ' -
mltted the privilege of thinking for
themselves; they were compelled to
. . i i witn a knowledge
content iimiuao!5- ----- -
of those things that had directly to do
with .the housenoio..
wftman f tnd&V ShOUld
be compelled to confine her efforts to
the limitations 01 me mu-a--i"
where the only path open to Tier Is a
.fiitni frnm one bit - of
inUUVlUuuuB
household drudgery to another.
Opponents' Argument Absurd.
"01
P COURSE I Tecognlsse that one
of the chief arguments of the
.ntl-femlnlst.q who oDOOse the entrance
of wage-earning wives Into our Indus
trial and commercial life is that the
hima hn HammA a. Darren nlace by
reason of the fact that It has been de
serted by its women. But that is sim
ply absurd. The condition Is the re-
(900,000, thereby depriving myself of
the working capital that would be
necessary to keep It going until the
theatrical activities of New- York
should have moved, as they have since
moved, in that direction.
"I was many years ahead of my time
and Olympia was not a success. I
found myself burdened with something
for which I could do nothing.
"Was I going on year after year
weighted down by the responsibility
of that heap of stones on a few yards
of dirt? 'No,' I said to myself, 'I shall
not'
"When the New York Life Insurance
Company purchased the building I felt
neither humiliated nor defeated. I let
Olympia go. I was not vexed by pang
or regret I went to the auction sale.
I saw the property sold at a prepos
terously small price. I used a vigorous
and inelegant word. The vigorous and
inelegant word was my epitaph on the
suit of a big, general movement going
on all over, the world, which Is making
the community rather than the homo
the center of human affairs.
"We are learning the value of co
operation; that people can be better
fed, better amused, better nursed In
groups than in Individual families.
"There Is one exception. So far
nothing has been discovered equal to
the home for the rearing of children.
To that function and to rest, I be
lieve; our homes should be dedicated.
They should be quiet, reposeful places
to come back to for the wife as well
as the husband.
"By this I do not mean to say that
the wife should be compelled to work
outside the home. She should do
so only when her inclination lies that
way. But I would have every encour
agement offered her to do so, espe
cially If she has no ohlldren.
"I believe absolutely In the economic
Independence of women, whether mar
ried or single. Of course. If a woman
prefers to cook and keep house because
she has a liking or natural aptitude for
that sort of work naturally she will
stay at home. But I maintain that the
devotion of all ber skill to one rran
represents economlo waste. And If she
Is to stay In the home, then she should
be entitled to receive regular - wages
from her husband.
"The wife who Is not earning any
money and wlta has no regular allow
ance has no true incentive for- econ
omy. It Is, Indeed, practically impos
sible for her, since she does not know
the extent of her resources. I believe
that a healthy young couple can get
along even in a city like New York on
as little as $15 a week if the money is
fairly apportioned between them.
Country Offers Advantages
(CTEERE2 la another expedient for
JL Hieing on a small Income which
seems to me worthy of wider adoption.
It Is simply to leave the big city and
live In the small town or the country.
Money will go so much further, and for
people free from the city craze life will
be so much broader and happier.
"The social advantages alone are
sufficient to make the change worth
while. I do not thlnlc a large family
of children ought to be brought up in
the city on a small Income.
"I am a firm believer In marriage
for young people if both the girl and
the man are given a sufficiently wide
field of choice. One of the difficulties
In the way of the happy marriage Is
BRENON
tomb of Olympia and of my hopes.
"Some men are' crushed Ty rallure
because of some weakness in them
selves. There is no disgrace or real
power in failure. No one should be
dismayed by it The strongest and
best men have failed, and not because
of want of purpose, energy or charac
ter. .
"Now, I am an observer. From my
office window In Olympia I had ob
served the corner of Forty-second
street and Broadway, where the Vic
toria Theater now stands. It was then
a collection of stables.
"As I sat at my desk in Olympia I
used to wonder why so valuable a lot
should remain unimproved.
"Mind you, at this time I had no
money left But with my burden off
my back the burden that I might have
carried until I was aged and enriched
by it I was free to move again.
"I made Inquiries. I found that the
Mil 1UHW1
that young people are not permitted to
make enough acquaintances.
"This, again, is especially true of the
dwellers In large towns.- The average
girl knows two or three eligible men.
when she should count at least a score
In her circle.
Duty Owed by City.
ffrVERSONALXY, I have long been of
" Mr the opinion that the munici
pality should take up the matter of
providing a social life for its young
people which will afford them a chance
to eelect their mates.
"It would be a good thlnor Derhaps
If the American girl would get more of
tne jTencn iaea as regards making
property was In court The heirs could
not agree. I went from one Interested
party to the other over three or four
status. J g-ot them together, and it
warn finally agreed to refer me for'con
cluunre action to a man In Albany.
went to see him; he asked me
what my business with him might be.
1 explained. In the middle of the ex
planation he stopped me, saying, 'What
tua you say your name was?'
" "Hammersteln,1 I replied.
"Tes, but your first name?
-" X)scar,' I answered.
"'Oscar Hammersteln,' said he, 'once
tne owner of Olympiad
"I confessed that his inference was
oorrect.
" 1 cannot' said he decisively, 'deal
witn a man wno is irresponsible.
" 1 am financially Irresponsible,' said
L "but not mentally or morally. Hear
mer
"In JO minutes we were out lunch
tog together. Very shortly afterward
I secured the lease of the ground of .the
Victoria Musio Hall, and without the
expenditure of a dollar. I had none
to expend. .
"The lease secure, the building of the
theater was easy. What, in view of
suca a story as this, is failure?
Profit Out of Disaster.
"I was at onetlme editor of the
American Tobacco Journal. My edi
torial offices were In a building on Bur
ling Slip. I came down to my day's
work one morning to find that one of
my employes had been careless enough
to leave a tap flowing the whole night
"The water had deluged the stock of
a tobacco importer on the floor be
neath me.. He came to see me, and,
stating the amount of damage, asked
for my check for f 1000.
"There was nothing to dispute, noth.
ing to argue. His estimate of the dam
age was fair. I paid him the money.
"Then I began to think. A- similar
accident might easily happen again
tomorrow, the next day or the day
after that, or on all three days. How
could I prevent It?
"I set my brains to work. I devised
a plan.- I sent for a plumber. His
name was Campbell. I asked him to
replace the pipe that fed the house
with water so that it passed the front
door. ' - -
"'He asked me why. I replied that
my reason was not material to him
at that moment Then I went out to
Fulton street
"Fulton street in those days was
much affected by hardware dealers. I
bought what is called a church lock;
that Is to say, a lock with a long pro
truding bolt. My idea Jas that the
water pipe should be so connected with
the lock of the front door that when
the Janitor shut the door at night he
also shut off the supply of water from
the entire building.
"The bolt of the lock was connected
with a Btop-cock in the water pipe.
"Campbell, who did the work for me,
was struck with the idea, and then
and there offered me $1500- for the
right to patent Within a few hours
after the accident I had profited by it
to the extent of $500.
Record as as Inventor.
"Let us talk a little more about what
men term failure. You know that I
am an inventor. The records of the
United States Patent Office show more
than 107 patents to my credit .
"One of these, I am Justified In say
ing, has revolutionized the cigar busi
ness. It is a machine for making cigars
by air suction. When 1 had completed
this Invention I called some of the
great cigar manufacturers together.
"They listened and then laughed at
money - once she get married. If a
woman 'Is successful commercially she
is apt not entirely to recognise certain
aspects of marital life. And our men,
too, have not as yet sensed this need.
"In a way many of them resent the
Idea that their wives should do any
labor which Involves her Introduction
Into a field away from the home or the
direct companionship of her husband.
They feel, perhaps, that It Is a reflec
tion on their capacity and ability.
"Tet this Is In no sense true. With
the French people It Is the understood
thing that once a girt Is married she
is to act as the helpmeet in business
and the home of her husband. More
often than not she is the real brains
of the partnership. But she never lets
her husband become aware of it
"Every girl, when she Is married, of
course, hopes to help her husband as
much as she can. She wants to be a
real member of the partnership. If
she has been engaged In some commer
cial pursuit in nine cases In ten she
would be much better able to help him
by Joining her Income with his than In
giving up her position and striving to
act as his housekeeper In matters in
which she has had little or no expe
rience. "And the American men have not as
yet grasped this part of the situation.
The reason Is that the average Amer
ican woman who achieves artlstlo or
commmercial success Is rarely a man
tamer. And not a French woman but
can lay claim to this distinction In
addition .to her abilities as an econo
mist "But all these things will come In
the course of time. New conditions
and new methods and systems of life
are not at first susceptlMe of general
adaptation, but the very things which
now seem the biggest obstacles In the
way of a universal understanding of
this problem will be the means even
tually of effecting a solution."
me and my machine. One of them be
came paternal and admonitory.
" 'Oscar,' said he, 'you are wasting
your time. Stop your dreaming.'
"I was stunned at the reception ac
corded to that which I knew was a
valuable Idea. It caused my faith In
human intelligence to waver. But It
didn't shake my belief In myself or In
my invention.
"Subsequently I sold this machine
for J6000. I knew the price was ab
surdly low. But what was I to do?
"The money was needed by me. I
had a wife snd children to support and
rent to pay. I have since seen that ma
chine in factory after factory. I know
that it has netted hundreds of thou
sands for those who bought the right
to manufacture it for the paltriest of
sums.
"Yet I have never regretted my sale
of It for so low a price. I had not com
mitted a blunder or become answerable
for a folly. I had only done that which
was enforced on me by overpowering
circumstances.
"Remember this a man must have
faith In himself. In a sense you must
be your own most appreciative and
eulogistic critic You must Inspirit
yourself by throwing bouquets at your
self, by standing now and then before
the mirror and saying, In despite and
defiance of all, 'Well, you are a great
fellow.'
"Call It egotism, conceit, what you
like, such an attitude Is a necessary
tonic. You may rest assured that if
you do not do it for yourself no one
will trouble to do it for you.
"A great poet has said that there Is
strength In weakness. Yes, strength
can come from oneself more easily than
it can come from others.
"The self-confidence you have In
yourself you must show to the world.
The world adopts the same skeptic,
sneering attitude ro every one who
would rise or would Improve homself
In It.
" 'Who are you and why should we
listen to you?" the world says In effect.
Blowing Your Own Trumpet.
"My advice Is to tell and retell the
world what you have done and who
you are. Clamor a bit in its ears.
Sound your own trumpet a bit Never
mind the accusation of braggart. Names
and abuse should never deter any one.
They come naturally In the course of
life.
"You will be abased anyhow for fail
ing, and you will be abused for succeed,
lng. The great men of history knew
the secret of imposing themselves on
their fellows, of keeping their actions
and achievements In high relief.
"My advice to all men snd I give It
solemnly Is make yourself felt. It Is
only In that way that you rise from
the rut or obscurity and achieve wealth
and power, or the equivalents of wearth
and power." - t
Then there came Into my mind the
words of Benjamin Disraeli: "Youth is
a blunder, manhood a struggle and old
age Is a regret" I quoted them to Mr.
Hammerstein.
"'Youth Is a blunder?" " said he. "Yes,
if our parents have not taken the
trouble to find our vocation and trained
us for Its exercise, or If we ourselves
have not divined It before our brains
and spirits have become inelastic or
begun to wsne.
'Manhood is a struggle, but a strug
gle of brain .against brain, of ability
against ability, of will against will, of
ambition against ambition; a struggle
not without Its Invlgoration and delig
not without us invlgoration and de
light. 'Old age a regret?" Mine shall never
be. Ms old age will not be embittered
with rugrets or galled with unneces
sary burdens."
cz- i n; n