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YqLjXXII NO *2 VIENNA, GA. THURSDAY, JUNE 2 1904 TERMS $1 A YEAR CASH OF INTEREST. TO WOMEN. THE BACK NUMBER Letter No. 16 of a series pf 20. Copy righted 1904 by Christine Herrick. Sometimes the back number is a man. Generally it is a woman. I am not going to try to oxplain why this is the ease. There may be a variety ot reasons. The first one that presents itself to me is that women lead too liiuoh of a shut-in life'juul do nof, have euough out side interests to occupy them. When a woman has little children it is natural and proper that she should boa great deal at homo. Her duties keep her there. But oddly enough, that is not usually an effort to change her. Even when the effort does come from the daughter the mother, does not always respond kindly to it. For one of the symptoms of back mimberitis is resentment of criti cism. And it must be owned that the ex perience is not one of' uirnixua gratification. We all of us like to be well thought of. And for a mother v no has thought pretty well of herself for years,—even if she has i.otownel it,-- to be called to order by her young daughter for a fault in 'pronunciation or mgrammer or for the cut of her skirt or the frock she wears' or- the uld fash ioned way in which she does her hair, is not the pleasantest experience one could select if one wore searoh- tho lime when she is aback number, ing for pleasat experiences. Unless she is of a hopelessly vege-' Yot such medioino is good for the table type she is interested in her babies and in ether women’s babies. She is keon to learn new things about housekeeping and home con veniences am) she wants to dress as well as circumstances will permit and to have her friends come in and •see her and the uewest baby. She probably takes at least one women’s paper and reads it diligently and perhaps sond9 an occasional contri bution to the bouse keepers’ column. As her children grow a little older and begin going to school she reads up ou new educational .methods and happy that her boy and girl are to have this and that advantage. j When the ohildren grow older and the girl goes away to school or | Comes nome afterwards and when j the boy goes to college or into 1 business, she is deeply interested in J all that concerns them,---their dress, j their pursuits and their friend. In the first place the woman grow s caroless about her dress. She is not j untidy, but she does not take a healthful interest in the fashions. She looks what I heard one wiUnnn call “don’t care-ish." That des cribes her very well. She do sen’t care about her dress, so long as it is clean and whole." She doesn’t care j about questions of public interest. ; She doesn’t read the papers. She ■ knowsnothing of what is going ou in the gr,eat world. She is inclined • to be a little peevish or querulous, j possibly. She feels that she is not 1 of much use. 1 Although most women do not recognize the fact,, the time when j they begin to be back numbers is long before they get there. The j disease is one of slow growth. It shows itself first when the mother ceases to throw herself into the persuits of her children, and takes H for granted that since they have their friends she is not needed. When she leaves the room in the evening because Bessie or- Mary is expecting callers, when she does n-- share in her daughter's interest m their new frocks or new companions ■when she fails to join in ljer sou s enthusiasm over base ball or fo.r j ball and to listen with keen intere-t to what “this fellow” said or “th: t fellow” did, when she comesOto. the point that she can no longer be a gill with her girls or a boy with her boys, she is well on . the way to a confirmed caseof “back numberitis. ” Her condition demands heroic treatment and her children rarely j dare apply it,---or perhaps it does not occur to them. It is a clear sighted-son or daughter who accepts the mother as she is without making sjuI. It is part of the heroic treat ment that is to save one from be coming a back number. As soon as one reaches the poiir where criticism is resented and ignored, growth and improvement are practically at au end. The other day I saw one woman who declines suoh physio. She is perhaps sixty years old aud she has in her the possibility of boing at tractive woman. Her figure is somewhat inclined to redundancy, but this same iieshiness does away with wrinkles and her face is us smooth and rosy as that of a child. Her hair, which is Still plentiful; she wears in flowing owls, because she wote them like that whou she first mot her husband, some forty odd years ago, This erives her a rather singular appearance,’ iu this day cf more conventional eoiliures, aud hur dress does not piake her look less odd. For one thing, she indulges in shirt waists, aucl this is an article of attire that the middle aged, woman should deny herself, if she is stout. Her corset was decidedly not of ‘the straight* front variety. She also wore ashort skirt,—another garment that is nevor becoming gto a largo woman. In imitation of the young girls twhoirt she had seen wear four in-band tics, this woman had put on a turn down collar and a made up lour-in-band. Apparently she was entirely contented with herself,— but it would have beeu an exception ally dutiful son or daughter who would with pride have introduced her to strangers. Yet had her dress been criticised, no matter how kindly, her feelings would havo been hurt deeply. And for that reason her family endures the mortification of her eceentrio aspect, loving her too dearly to wound her by a word of disparagement, or even of advise. The mother need not of necessity be obliged to entertain in an elaborate fashion, any more than she must dress in gorgeous attire. But she should make her children’s friends woloomo to the family tablo, she should know what are then interests and ambitions, she should pay euough attention to h6r own dross to bo sure that she will appear well in the eyes of hcriamily and of others. She should share the pursuits of her sous and daughters so far as she can. The lectures and epuoorls and clubs that interest them should claim her interest. She should join in their outdoor occupations, She should fish with them, row with thorn, walk with them. ..AH Ihis.isTiot merely : to Imji companion to the jilmors and so to do them good and help them on in life. The association does that, but it does more ^besides. It keeps the mother young. -It brings her lii touch witli.wbat is going on Tn the world about her aud makes her feel a part of tlie great scheme of things insteadTf a self-centered atom off by herself. Tboro is no danger of her getting into a back eddy am) staying there if she is with her children. They are bound to go on and sho goes with them. She can afford to expend a groat deal of compassionate thought on the woman who has suffered horself to become a back number. The blackberry crop promises to be geod and the country editors are feeling jubilent over the prospect. ELECTION FRAUDS ' The contest case between N A Morris and Geo. F. Uober for" the nomination of judge of the Bluo Ridge circuit has been published in book form and sent out for publio reading. It is the case in which Gober was nominated and Morris contested the primary vote And tlio grounds of fiatid, Tho stato executive eommitteej i sustained GSbor because of aomo papers not boiiig properly prepared. The books shows the dirtiost kind of political trickery in some of tlm districts of ^ Cobb county. This does not turn • us- against electing judges by the people, but it forces tho ppimon upon us stronger that we need the" Australian or somo other ballot system. Lot the elec- tion of judges remain whore it is", but give us better cicoliou laws. The corruption practiced at tho polls is sometime a -t-amplc of the charac ter of tlio’ men voted for, ami’ gen erally betokens ihfl character of tho mon who perpetrate the frauds. Since so much fraud is shown in the judicial circles, there must be a source of corruption from whioh it flows, and the open ballot has laid bare some of tho pts. W hen judges are appointed, the evil is just jas intense but not so wide spread. Nine out ol ten business men fail* Nine out of ten farmers succeed. Young man, slay on the farm. ■■•a ■nun i) Where It Is Cash Pric or Can Find ^ant to