Reno and her people cannot be spoken of as typical of other Western towns and people, as the residents of this much-talked-of "big little city" are subject to conditions which do not exist in any other town in the country. They are democratic and whole-hearted Westerners, but find themselves confronted with social conditions which change their attitude toward things. However, I was very much impressed at the comparatively few divorces one finds among the older, permanent residents. I think this proves that it is the "unattainable that is most desired."
[Illustration: Y.M.C.A.]
The women of Nevada have enjoyed equal suffrage for some time; they are wide awake and interested in all public affairs. Besides being domesticated, they are intellectual and energetic. There are very few "prudes" among them, and a great many diplomats. Nowhere more than in Reno is developed among men and women a sense of being individual. I attended many of the Women's Clubs, and was always agreeably surprised to find them up-to-date in every respect: a company of women banded together to study and plan for the betterment of humanity, and social conditions in general. The Mothers' Club and the Century Club are doing splendid work in aiding the development of "Home Economics," "Better Babies," helping with all kinds of charities, civic improvements and much other commendable work.
It was at these clubs that I met the real wife and mother, with real sweetness of soul: the woman who even under difficulties knew how to live a simple, pure and gentle life. Never have I come in contact with so much human feeling—even the ministers and their families are human, and full of understanding! The officials and people of prominence are all natural and unassuming.
I attended a "Ladies' Aid" meeting at which there were about forty ladies present, and among other good traits of these fine, earnest women I noticed particularly the absence of gossip and prudishness.
However, there is a spirit of contradiction prevailing in Reno which is very difficult to understand. All traces of the "wild and woolly" Western town have disappeared. The people of Reno are very docile indeed …. there are no cowboy yells nor Indian whoops, which some of our Eastern and Southern friends imagine still to exist. And the click of the roulette-wheel has passed with the years that have departed. Reno has developed into a cosmopolitan city with a cosmopolitan population. The cafes have cabarets with excellent talent, and there is dancing every evening in several of the hotels, where amid the bright lights, gay music, beautifully gowned women and well groomed men, one might easily imagine oneself in one of the swell cafes on Broadway: until one catches a glimpse of the moonlight on the Truckee, through an open window…. Here the people of Reno rub shoulders with those who constitute the "Divorce Colony," and to a new-comer, it is difficult to distinguish the one from the other.
The people of Reno keep their city clean, and maintain a very high standard of law and order. A lady may walk out unescorted at any hour of the day or night, and will never be molested or insulted in any way. The absence of public drunkenness and profanity is very noticeable, and I was not surprised to read the following note clipped from one of the local newspapers on Sunday morning:
"DEAD CALM IN POLICE COURTS ON SATURDAY"
"Police court was absolutely deserted yesterday morning, not a single case appearing on the docket to mar the serenity of the day. Reno's night police found the citizens unusually well behaved all night long and were not required to make even one arrest during the twelve hours they were on duty."
The fact that the people do not show much hospitality to undesirables, not even the hospitality of their jails, may explain why the little city is so calm and peaceful, and its police not overworked. The following clipping will indicate what happened to undesirables: