South Bend News-Times, Volume 39, Number 90, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 31 March 1922 — Page 24

World's Greatest Business Woman

Too Busy to Stay Married?

Discerning Friends Point Out That "Lady Rhondda 's

Husband" Is Being Discarded by the Director of

Thirty-Six British Corporations Because

She Has No Time for Domestic Affairs.

Besides Her (ireat Business Enterprises Lady Rhondda Is One of Eiu.UiTs

Beautiful and Most Popular Figures.

By . . . Helen Hoffman (Special Staff Correspondent) LONDON. SHE was one-hHalf of one per cent, home interest and ninety-nine and one-half per cent business!" This, according to a close friend of Viscountess Rhondda, is the domestic proportion which brought about Lady Rhondda's action for restitution of conjugal rights begun here against Sir Humphrey Mackworth. Lady Rhondda (pronounced Rontha) is the world's greatest business woman. She is daughter of the late D. A. Thomas, Welsh coal baron. The action has caused a stir In England's highest social circles and has astonished captains of finance who daily meet Lady Rhondda in the big business activities in which she plays an important part. Her friends frankly explain the domestic disruption by the statement that she is too busy to stay married. Nevertheless, influential ones are seeking if possible to avert the divorce toward which the suit already started is the first legal step. Lady Rhondda is in a class by herself as a woman financier. She is presiding officer or director of thirty-six corporations. She is also the president of the Women.'s Industrial League. Moreover, she is the first woman member of the House of Lords. On her personal application to King George the Committee on Privileges of the upper House of Parliment has given her the right to occupy the seat her late father held. A Colorful Romance Nor is Sir Humphrey, her husband, a small figure by any means. He is descended from a long line of noble blood. His ancestral estates in Monmouthshire, adjacent to those of his wife's father, are among the richest in England. He is a towering personality in high society and also earned merited distinction for his services during the war. Their romance began as neighbors. Sir Humphrey admired Margaret Thomas because she had a mind of her own. He, too, wasreputed to have great initiative. And, because of this,

friends prophesied a very happy marriage.

t It.c b-for- t o, trouh'e ::! oo:::".

I;ut it u perceive i f

did hi- wif w::.:::nc man:;- r. d.-rful i'-;- acumen. Sir II

f

ei a

::-.fuI tc.vard

'erninr onci A.imire as he ar.d :ir wonh:ey be;c:an to t : . : 1 1 : 5 which

Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Who Is Generally Known as "Ladv Rhondda's Husband.' was Dwarfed by His Wife. kept her out of his home. Even her spare time was occupied by hobbies. The first fad which she took up was militant FnfTraire. She became one of Miss Tankhurst's most brilliant firebrands. She made public speeche? and aided in the rather strenuous campaign that the sutfraettes waced. Finally, she was arrested. Srw served a short term in jail with the proud attitude of a martyr to the cause. The war breaking out, she was sriven another field of endeavor. She worked ceaselessly ar.d tirelessly a-.r.or.c th.e soldiers and their families. Tr-.xi.--an :s of men in uniform came to love hi r for her patriotism and her kindness. She rrava penerously of her income to help brin about victory for Rritish arn.s. But when the war was ever and her husband e r.tcrtair.t. d hope that she would devote her time to him and her hom she look up the direction (f the Six Point Croup, an organization aiming to secure better laws regulativer the employ men: nr. i working conditions of women and children. It would seem, in reading over the list of Lady Rhcr.dda's "spare time" activities, that 5ha could have had little opportunity for business. Nevertheless, this remarkable woman every cay ruts through business deals that would amaze

When Her Husband Entertained the Hope That She Would Dovote Time to Her Home, She Took Up the Direction of Another Big Organization."

the shrewdest brains in Wall street. She performs her tasks so rapidly that she never remains after business hours, and she maintain a punctuality also In her avocational affairs that is the wonderment of women who work with her. But she has displayed that remarkable talent since she was a young: arirl. Much of it can be traced to inherent ability which was properly nurtured and developed by her late father, D. A. Thomas, the coal baron, who was made Baron Rhondda in 1916 and who died in 1918. It was the belief of her father that in the absence of a son in the home, a daughter should be trained to carry on the family business. He began teaching her the "inside" to his great collieries when she was still in her teens. And In her early twenties, before her marriage, she avo a startling1 exhibition of resourcefulness and initiative. Her father had pone far to Canada on an important business mission. A most pressing situation suddenly developed at home with no one on hand who dared risk acting for Mr. Thomas. I'll do it!" spoke up the daughter. "On whose authority?" she was asked. "My own," she responded, laconically. Then she went ahead, called a meeting of th board of directors, dictated what was to be dona and with a stroke of her pen put through a deal involving So.OOO.OOO. When her father returned home he could not find words to express his satisfaction at the way his child and business protetre had "made good." In this feat friends of Lord Rhondda since have seen something that reminded them of Earl Haipr, to whom Lady Rhondda is related. They point out that one of the great soldier's characteristics which stood hi? country such good service in time of need was his ability instantly to grasp a complex situation and act with nicety and dispatch. Yet, friends of the unhappy couple declare that it was not wholly business interests and other activities that caused the two to take diverging paths. Jealousy of his wife's distinction is said to have been a great factor. And when the situation is closely inspected much sympathy will be found for Sir Humphrey among husbands whose wives become prominent. Sir Humphrey, as I have already remarked, comes of a very distinguished family and ha3 always been used to that deference which is shown one of his station. The title "master" of his estates seemed to be chosen particularly well in hi3 case, even hi3 personal appearance suggesting command. But, after his marriage to Lady Rhondda, he dwindled in the public appraisal while his wife grew more and more in estimation. In a very

short time she had reduced him to pygmy proportions by contrast with herself. And he began to be known as "Lady Rhondda's husband." Americans will appreciate the bitter pill he had to swallow in his unwilling acceptance of this Identification. The more he protested against it the more general the appellation became. So that today throughout England, one knows this descendant of strong men, whose ladies had been content for centuries to have the distinction of an alliance with the Mackworth name, merely as a husband dragging along behind a distinguished wife. "Woman the Superior of Man" Lady Rhondda does not hesitate to air her opinions on the subject of sex equality. She is one of those who believe that man is in no way the superior of a woman. In fact, she rather takes the opposite viewpoint. She considers woman the superior of man in many, many respects. Talking on this subject she recently said: "If we were asked what gift we held mo3t dear, both for ourselves and for our children, we would answer, Freedom. I mean not only freedom for nations, but freedom from bodily slavery, freedom of thought, and, most essential, freedom of opportunity. "What is the freedom we wemen how have? Men put us on a pedestal to get us out of the way. A pedestal Is very uncomfortable and quite useless."

If Lady Rhondda hail be- .-. . emp. through

i attend to r.or

rdv if s'.u had beer.

the force of economic con.:;

own household in -'ther

forced to do her own housowoil.. po-ha: : h- today would be higher in th vrcard of her V;--

bard and not involved ir. a marital tt-

the court. IV xt she employed "lu.-ehoi p'-rs a a i servants to do the most trivial thin;:- and, as the result, lost that enjoyment whi'-h most wives find m preparing meals and maintaining the household. It generally follows that when tri" wif.tires of these tasks it isn't long b.f i- she is :n feme sort of drr.esh lgal ret: n Lady Rhondda is net now in Per.oed Ca-,t: She has gone to France for a short stay. And. in the meantime, friends of both are working effect a reconciliation. Under the I ;w she mur-: soon write a request to her hu.-br.r.d to return to her. If he ignores t hi - btt. r th n h-r act: -, becomes one for diverc ra--d on d---er;ior.. V. L. George, the English novi rcf c;: made a statement which friends f L.viy Rh or. have applied to her case. He sa;d: "It will take fifty years for mr.a t. -cuct himself to the changed position r.f v.-'.mar: Ir. fact, it may take one hundred yoars T. e td.-kv men adjust themselves, to tht? new situation better for them, for they'll hae to do it joorn -or later. But, looking back over the history women you mu-t admit that one hun ired y.-ar would be a short time, after all, in which to r. adjust the social program."

St range Superstitions About Weddings

MARRIAGE being an ancient institution which vitally affects lives of men and women, it is not surprising that practically everything connected therewith has soma superstitious belief or other associated with it. The majority of people believe that particular incidents, colors, days, flowers, et?., determine abEOiutely the weal or woe of the parties to a marriage. They avoid supposedly unlucky days for their weldings. They take p?.ins to arrange everything so as to assure conjugal happiness and they worry themselves r.eirly to death if anything in connection with th ceremony takes an unpropitious turn. If a bride marks her linen with the initials of her betrothed it is commonly believed that she will never have cerasion to use it as hi3 wife. It is regarded as very unlucky if h?r fiance see 3 her wearing any par: of her trousseau before the day, or even the hour, set for the wedding ceremo'ny. Only bad luck can be expected, many believe, if the bride makes her own wedding dress or if the making of the dress is begun before the day is rimed for the wedding. "Superstitious brides usually avoid velvet as a material for their wedding dresses, believingthat it would be certain to bring them, bad luck. Satin is favored because it is believed to assure good fortune. If one holds a wedding dress in the hands frr five minutes and makes a wish the wish will "come true," many believe.

Brides are happy if the first fbwer they behold on their wedding day i3 white and unhappy if it is red; the white flower is supposed to auruhappiness and the red unhappiness and care durio.g the married life. If flowers are worn in thr bride's hair, uncovered by a veil, she will be Forry she married. To leave her bouquet in the church and then turn back for it is considered equally portentous. The girl who finds or snatches a flower from a bride's bouquet may expect an early marriage, while the one who dons a bridal veil or wreath i" a spirit of fun will be an old maid, according t n. popular belief. If the bridegroom appears with his tie awry it is a "sign" that he lve.s another girl and if a raveling is found on his clothes th - supposition is that another woman 3ove3 him. Many are convinced that the bride should no' bake the wedding cake herself if she desires to fcvoid bad luck. She can be sure .f good luck, they say, if she cuts the first slice of the cake. Any accident to the cake give warning that the 1 ride will experience sorrow in her early married life. If an unmarried girl carries a pi"? cf wedding cake in her pocket during the honeynicon she will become a bride before the dress i v orn cut, 'tis said. To eat a piece cf the c&k? that the bride has left on her plat will likewise tring an early marriage. Girls often place wedding cake under their pillows, believing that they will then dream of their future husbands.

r ;.rr I'!ir It.