.

Comparisons Are Odious.
I had always been proud of my country, of course.

Everyone is.

Compared with the other lands and other races I knew, the United States of America had always seemed to me, speaking modestly, as good as the best of them.
But just as a clear-eyed, intelligent, perfectly honest, and well-meaning child will frequently jar one's self-esteem by innocent questions, so did these women, without the slightest appearance of malice or satire, continually bring up points of discussion which we spent our best efforts in evading.
Now that we were fairly proficient in their language, had read a lot about their history, and had given them the general outlines of ours, they were able to press their questions closer.
So when Jeff admitted the number of "women wage earners" we had, they instantly asked for the total population, for the proportion of adult women, and found that there were but twenty million or so at the outside.
"Then at least a third of your women are--what is it you call them--wage earners?
And they are all POOR.

What is POOR, exactly ?" "Ours is the best country in the world as to poverty," Terry told them.
"We do not have the wretched paupers and beggars of the older countries, I assure you.