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w IIIER3 nro women who under-! stand politics—more In Eng- ] land than in America and ; more In Die western part of j the United States 'than In the eastern, i Human beings understand best what thoy ore most Interested In. In th“ • large eastern cities of this country well | to do women apparently care more for clothes than for anything else, conse quently they out dress all creation. In the west wives, mothers and daughters have ffiad to concern themselves with the vital facts and questions of human, existence Itself, consequently are in terested In all that pertains to this ex istence. The general charge brought by Intelligent and public spirited Eng lishwomen against American women is that they take no Interest In national questions and are lamentably Ignorant of politics. Lady Henry Somerset is among those who lay this charge at the door of our •women. The Lady Herself. Lady Henry Somerset herself Is a notable example of what a woman may achieve through taking intelligent In terest in public afTafrs. She began her career as a rich, beautiful and popular member of England's most aristocratic social set. In this atmosphere was she bom, reared and married. Well, life turned out not altogether what she had and, addressing the crowd at one of the seen In her rose colored imagination, meetings in connection with the his- S<jciety? Riches? Matrimony? Not trric tramp, said: one, not all of them together, proved ; “if I and the women of my class had satisfying. There must be something taken an interest in the emancipation else. Lady Henry Somerset turned to of our own sex twenty years ago we philanthropy. Her intellect was broad would not now hai7e to be tramping and vigorous. To do any real good to through the wet and mire to beg mem- the distressed half helpful movements; bers of parliament to grant us human must bo large and general. Here Lady rights.” Henry presently found herself "up against It,” a slang expression which it la to be hoped will become classic Eng-’ llsh. Lridy Henry found she could do nothing without help from lawmakers, national and municipal. The beautiful “and aristocratic society woman became a politician, working for the people. She understands politics thoroughly. On the woman question Lady Somerset says, "She who is lifo giver ought to sit among the law givers." A Noted Suffragette. There is tlje witty, brilliant, brainy Lady Frances Balfour. She is a daugh ter of the late Duke of Argyll and the elster-ln-law of King Edward's sister, the Princess Louise. The fact that she Is the slstcr-in-Iaw to a princess royal does not, however, prevent Lady Fran ces Balfour from being the most In dependent of strong minded women. She, too, is heart and souf in politics In the better sense. She Is the cham- "The cause of woman suffrage In England has monstrous high connec tions,” says a writer. Quite apart from the energetic and aboveboard Interest In government af fairs of such women as Lady Frances Balfour is that of the cabal of society dame3'who are said at present to rule the British government behind the throne. They represent the pernicious Influence of women In politics, perni cious because it is lndircct 4 and based on social and/personal power and at tractions. • A Quaker City Politician. The country over, attention has been drawn to a newspaper interview with Mrs. John E. Reybarn, wife of the new mayor of Philadelphia. The point es pecially noted was that Mrs. Reyburn said she hoped to induce Philadelphia ladies to become as much interested as she herself is in politics, municipal and national. This statement seemed queer plon of woman and, like Lady Somer-1 to the common understanding; set, she, too, found that to do anything to help women workers one must have u grip on the lawmaking power. She did not discover this immediate ly, however, as she confessed in a re cent speech. She led the famous suf fragette march through the storm, mud and rain on the house of commons. She Is an eloquent ana Impressive orator It la a suggestive fact that of the few American women who do manifest an intelligent interest in politics nearly all are from the west or the .middle west. Mrs. Reyburn was born in.Ohio and brought up in Kansas; Her father was Judge Robert Crozier, who estab lished the first newspaper in Kansas, llio Leavenworth Times. In the news paper interview mentioned Mrs. Rey burn says: Here are the great local questions of the hour being debated around us every day, questions t'nt affect the welfare of a world famed city with a million and a quarter inhabitants, problems upon the solution cf which depend the comfort, health and happiness of our children and our children's children, and yet we sneer at them, say they are good enough , for ward heelers and bosseh, and give all our attention to more momentous things, like teas and theaters. In Washington when her husband was a memDer oi sylvania Mrs. Reyburn was steeped In tho sociopolitical atmosphere. She has always been Intensely ambitious for : her husband. If his four years' admin- i istration as mayor of Philadelphia proves the success: he hopes to- make it he will have to thank for it not a little the thorough sympathy and political ability of his talented wife. If she were a man, where wouldn’t she be? Another woman known to understand through and through the polities of the times when her husband was Unit- is airs. John A. Lo gan. It has been said she was the making of him politically. Indeed it is whispered that when he made -his first impromptu speech, in answer to a sere nade, his wife alary crouched behind him and told him. sentence by sentence, what to say. Mrs. Logan was born in Missouri, Somo Clever. Wives. In New York city few men know poli tics more profoundly than’Mrs. Clar ence Burns does. Again the old story— she wanted to do philanthropic work on a large scale and found that in order to accomplish anything she must also study politics. Mrs. Burns, clubwoman and “philanthropist, also woman suf- tragist. is originally from Canada. It is said frequently .that few United States senators understand national questions so well as does Mrs. Fair banks, the brilliant, intellectual wife of the vice president. Mrs. Fairbanks, a classmate at college of Mr. Fairbanks, ■is a native of Ohio, who helped her husband make his career in Indiana. Make a note of this: Where intelligent and brainy Ameri can women—would there were more of them—do take warm interest In poli tics the- politics is usually merely an aid in the achievement of some worthy purpose they have in view. An Officeholder. Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCullough, the new justice of the. peace In Evans ton, Ill., has been connected with pro gressive movements, particularly those that concern her own sex, for a num ber of years. She is the second woman elected justice of the peace in Illinois and has already been sworn in as such- Mrs. McCullough has been practicing law in Chicago twenty years and is a member of the bar of the supreme court of the United States. She was elected to office by a heavy majority, the po litical parties uniting to vote for her. She managed her own campaign with consummate ability. Her husband, Frank H. McCullough, was.’ present when she tpok her oath of office. A Colorado Politician. Another woman politician of high standing and splendid character is Mrs. Sarah Platt Decker of Denver. Mr.-. Decker is chairman of the Colorado state board of charities and correction and a member of the national child la bor committee. She Is also the honor ed president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, an organization oi some 506,000 women. Mrs. Decker believes that all men should retire from business as soon as they have acquired a competency and devote themselves to purifying politics. Then, she says, politics would be pure. Here Is one of her political anecdotes: “Is everything ready for the raid on that gambling house?" asks the police captain of his lieutenant. "It is. sir." replies the lieutenant, salut ing. “Our arms are in order, here are the reporters, there are the flashlight camera men, and I notified the proprietor of the place this afternoon." One of tho ablest of politicians is Miss Estelle Reel of Wyoming, na tional superintendent of Indian schools. She received her appointment first from President McKinley, and President Roosevelt has continued it. Miss Reel is of course a Republican. She is a native of Illinois. Miss Reel began life as a teacher in Wyoming, was advanced first to coun ty, then to state superintendent of schools, finally to her present responsi ble post. She is said to receive tho largest pay of any woman in the gov ernment service, her salary being *3.000. She has displayed conspicuow wolli- ty .In office, but She never woulo havo got office only that she had equal abili ty in political working. She know' how to manage the voters. Once in on »r to keep an appointment she had to ride all night in a cattle train. She ha oic- ally mounted into the caboose. Tin at mosphere was a blue fog of coarse to bacco and something worse. The a- boose was filled with attendants on >he> steers. '“It’s a woman, blast the luck!" ->h» heard one of them growl to his rna es^ Estelle Reel smiled the .sweetest of smiles and said in the sweetest ot voices: "Gentlemen, don’t stop smoking I beg of you. I like to amell the smoke.” And yet they say woman cannot un derstand politics! HELEN BARN ART. KEEP AHEAD. One of the most important rule** In life is never to got behind, to k**cp ahead in every possible way. If r-op fall behind it is frequently very cult to recover the lost ground. Me who commences by putting aside a portion of his earnings, however small, and continues to do so for a number of years, is likely to become rich before lie dies. One who inherits properly and goes on year by year spending a little more than his income will become poor, if he lives lcfiig enough by constantly getting behind. Living beyond tftcir means has brought multitudes of *c*r- sons to ruin. tShe (Choosing. 0/ Clothes and io heir %SuitaMeness- should attempt to teach. "The teach er," be said “should be an athlete and a trained artisan.” Happiness which is not accompanied by regular, earnest work is seldom en during. A woman has for the first time been made an instructor in the secret service 1 hose Understand It and i hose ^ZPho Don't T seems to me the great thing in | result? Very soon the feathers grow I any Fifth avenue shop In the morning [ Did you ever meet a woman who t you, too, and you can’t begin a single 1 her box between the acts, and, being a | majesties, and into this the unfortunate is to see that shabby from being out in all sorts of and you will see'Mrs. Smartleigh and thought of nothing but dress, who cared ! sentence without her chopping in. little late and flustered, she made a , woman blundered. Don't blame her. weather, the flowers and the tulle those of her set dressed so plainly you - for nothing but that and who was so j She has no interest or occupation in mistake and blundered into that of the I She_ was desperate, and she wanted to droop, and the whole thing looks fear- ' will scarcely give them a second look ' dressed up when she went out^with j life other thati that of dropping in on j duchess cf something of other. That get out, so she tripped down tiie hezga I choosing clothes Is to see they are practical. A thing may be ever so dainty arid beautiful at first, but if it docs not stay that way of what use is it? That is why the common run of wo men who patronize bargains and shod dy shops always look badly dressed. They buy without regard for lasting qualities or fitness of .things. Take the matter of headgear worn in the shopping district in the morning, let us say. Can anything bo in worse taste than a plumed hat at that hour of the day, unless indeed it is diamond earrings? And yet one sees perfectly "nice” women carrying a shopping list with this kind of a hat. What is the fully shabby. The woman with the unless you are a connoisseur’In finely | you that she couldn’t even move around plumed hat usually has on an elaborate fitted tailor mades and sailor hats ; comfortably? “ ' - J ‘ ‘ ' ‘ We took a lady of this description to lingerie blouse, hard to keep clean and whose severity proclaims that they still harder to do up; a fancy tailor come from an ultra expensive shop. made, an elaborate white silk or kid belt—unwashablc—and kid gloves of a light color. In Vivid Contrast. of the Now, how does Mrs. Smartleigh J same material, look when she goes shopping?.- Mrs. i cut short enough Smartleigh has enough money to buy j to reveal a trim all the plumed hats and insertion trim- j P air of ankles med waists a-gotng, but she doesn't do ; clad in heavy it. She lets the woman who can't af- i tan silk stock- ford It parade in these thihgs. Go in ! ings—not open- ' work—the said stockings being finished oft by a neat pair of russet shoes. Her gloves will be of tan leath er and match these, while her broad brimmed tan sailor trinjmed with blue wings will Mrs. Smartleigh will probably wear a blue cheviot single buttoned jacket over a plaited skirt ELLA WHEELER WILCOX, JOURNALIST AND POETESS. From this picture of the "poetess of passion” made from a recent photo graph it will be seen that she is not yet beginning to show the flight of years. Mrs. Wilcox has not only demonstrate.1 the fact that she Is a poet of r.o mean order, bet also that she is a rarely successful journalist. Her newspaper work alone has been sufficient to make her one of the best known Women writers in America. C- Carrylng a shopping list tcith this hind of a hat, support affine meshed brown face veil. Her shirt waist will be of plain linen —not transparent material. It will be made in plaits with a neat little em broidered turnover collar and an In finitesimal bow tie to match the cos tume. The suit may be cleaned and pressed at an hour's notice. The waists will stand any amount of laundering, and the whole outfit will outlast three of the woman whose husband is probably a hardworking clerk or employee on a small salary—the very woman who ought to know better than waste her money the way she does. Too Diaphanous. I am very much against the trans parent waist for street wear. I base my objection to it solely on the ground of good taste. The greatest abomina tion of all is the so called tailor piade waist worn with a stiff collar when this is mads of frivolous material which allows the corset cover and the scams around the armhole to be clear ly visible. Then, too, being so thin, the material rumples and grows un tidy looking in a most untailor made way. The lingerie waist ought always to be worn with a silk corset cover having short sleeve puffs in which are concealed the shields, which no well dressed woman should be without in warm weather and which are distinctly meant to be hidden. Next to having the braid ripped at the bottom of her skirt the woman whose shields show is—well, I think 11 won’t say it! | the races with us in the automobile the other day. She looked as if she were going to a reception. She wore her diamond earrings and all her diamond rings and a huge diamond pin and a dyed lace coat and a plumed hat which must have weighed a ton, together with a heavily embroidered silk princess gown. Some one took pity on her and lent’her a motoring coat and a service able veil, which wouldn't tie around her hat. by the way. She was perfectly miserable, for the dust flew and the "wind blew, and she kept patting her marcel wave to be sure it still held its own. The owner of the car were a, long serviceable pongee coat and a small auto hat which had cost her ex actly $7, but it served as an admirable foundation for her long Alice blue chif fon veil. The other women were simi larly dressed. They looked smart and attractive because they fitted tn to the picture. The lady who sat huddled up in her finery on the back seat looked like a stuffed owl. After all, what is the use of clothes if they prevent you from having a good time? I know of women who in order to buy expensive dresses and waists absolutely stint themselves carfare and cannot be called upon to join in any good times because they want to "save* their money. They even limit the num ber of their friends because entertain ing costs money. Bah! 1 I'd rather have only one shirt waist and one skirt to my back than lead such & life. An Excess of Sociability. And, speaking of friends. Is It pos sible to call too often at a house? Yes. indeed! Positively I have stopped going to a certain house—a very charming house, A women who thought of nothing hut dress. indeed—because one meets there all the time the worst bore In town. You have hardly entered the parlor and begun, a conversation with your hostess when ding. ding, goes the bell and in she troops. She makes it a point to outstay Urs. Smartleigh, too, has money enough. amiahje lady, thinking her one of the ; of coroneted footmen until one bar guests—the lights were low. at the time ’ —•“ ’ •— —greeted her effusively. As soon as she could Miss Jenkins explained, and the good natured duchess, exclaiming, “Oh, you must belong in there!” push ed her into the next box, which hap pened to belong to Lord What’s-his- name. The stage and the house were 1 now quite dark, the noble lord's box was fortunately empty, and to her hor ror Miss Jenkins discovered she was right next to the royalties, so there was nothing for her to do but to sit there on pins and needles until the end of the act. Then she made a wild dash out. Now, it is the custom on royal nights to have a lane arranged especially for their red her way and asked whose carriage ho should call for, She could think of nothing but tho awfulness of answering plain ‘'Miss Jenkins,” so quick as a flash she look ed him straight in the. eye and answer ed haughtily, “Lady Jenkins.” “The carriage of Lady Jenkins!” went* reverberating up and down the glittering line. Fortunately her coachman was pos sessed of rare common sense. He drove up immediately and soon “Lady” Jenkins was on her way home, leaning against the cushions in a stato hpr friends, an&she is so systematic in doing this she has almost turned itinto her life occupation. Where the Fault Lies. Do you know one thing—some people are poor and unfortunate things, no fault of their own, but these are getting so rare it is al most hard to find them? » Investigate almost every case you know about, and you will find some body’s. neglect, laziness or in difference at the bottom of it. No one need stay poor un less she wishes it; no one need stay ignorant unless for the same reason. Most women who are without means are so because they either won’t work or won’t learn to work. There are some women who will work —oh, yes, gladly—but they want certain kinds of occupation, which they can’t get either because they are unfitted for them or because there is no demand for that kind of labor. Now, there is something in every case that the woman couiJ do, but she won't because she imagine* St is beneath her. As long as women have this sort of idea I dori't think they are worth serious considera tion as far as giving them greater civic privileges and all that sort of thing goes. Funny Incident. Hoot, mon! ’Tis a gr-rand thing have your wits about ye. I musj tell you about a woman I met abroad. She belongs to rather a nice set in London, knows a lot of clever people and has a good bit of money herself. She is eccentric, has one of the finest strings of white sapphires in existence and,goes to Monte Carlo three times a year,' she Is so fond of it—in fact, she refers to it affectionately as "Monty." It is her idea of heaven. Well, to return to our walnuts (which Is a welcome change from muttons, don't you think?), one evening Miss Jenkins (let us call her that) had a box at the opera. It was a night when the ; The Countess of Warwick has long been numbered among the most beau- royal family was present, and there i tiful women in England, and her only daughter, born Lady Greville, who was was a box for the king and queen and married four years ago to Viscount Helmsley, grandson and heir of Earl several for the other ladies and gentle- • Feversham, is also very beautiful. Like her mother also, Lady Marjorie is men of the party. Miss Jenkins left | quite a politician and is ambitious to have a hand in matters of state. THE BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER OF A BEAUTIFUL MOTHER. WHAT THE FEMININE SEX IS ABOUT. chased by a Swiss-German syndicate, I which will run it as a fashionable re- Ellen Terry has written the following | and if it were three words, ’Don’t be' sort for wealthy invalids. Mt of sentiment to the students of the vain.'” W. H. Maxwell, New York city su- Leeds Dramatic college: “I have been I The Austrian Empress Elizabeth's' perinter.u-r.t of public schools, in an asked to say a word to you. If I say 1 marble palace on the island of Corfu is address before the students of Co’.um- one word it will be ‘Work.’ If it were I to become a sanitarium for rich con-; bin university, gave it as his opinion two words 1 should say "Bo patient,’ hsuroptlve patients. It has been pur- i that no nervous or excitable person department. She is Mrs. M. E. Hoi-| ence as he is himself. She certainly ; to gallons..mother?” inquired the small land of Chicago, v.-h’o has been teaching j knows more about it than any one else j student. ■ the police or America how to identify I in America, man woman, criminals by finger prints. She studied j A mother was assisting her little son for fifteen years under detective Per- to overcome th? difficulties of arithme- ntr-r. the great finger print expert of j tic. To turn gallons into quarts, quarts ... Scotland Yard and-iuade herself almost into pints, pints into gills was easy,! ought not to object, I ran across you as great an authority on the new sci- ' but “How can you reduce hedgehogs ’■ by accident.” “Why are you always stumbling over everything?” asked an angry woman of her husband. "I don't know.” replied matrimonial martyr.