The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-06-04
THE WIPES WAGES.

-Hdrpcr's Weekly.
THE wIFE'S WAGES.
"WBLL, Nettie, what do you want?''
said Mr.. Jarvis to his wife, who stood
looking rather anxiously at him after he
had paid the factory hands their weeks
wages.
'sWhy Donald" she said, 81 thought
as had worked for you all the week,
I would come for my wages, too! You
pay Jane two dollars a week, surely I
earn that, and would like very much
to have it as my own"
"Pshaw, Nettie, how ridiculously you
talk! You know that all 1 have be-
longs to you and the children-and don't
I furnish the house and everything?
What under the sun would you do with
money if you had it?'
II know, Donald, that you buy the
necessaries for us all, and am willing
that You should do so still, but should
like little money of my very own. We
have been married fifteen years, and in
all that time do not seem to have
earned a dollar. As far as money is
concerned might as well be a slave.
I cannot buy a quart of berries, nor q
book, without asking you for the mon
ey, and should like to be little more
independent
Mr.. Jarvis. proprietor of Jarvis Mills,
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,
laughed derisively.
you're a fine one to talk of indie
pendence," ne said. eff you should
start out to make your own Lying you'd
fetch up in the poorhouse soon enough,
for what could you do to earn living?
The girls in the factory know how to
do their work, and they earn their
wages. When l have paid them my
duty is done; but have to board and
clothe you, and take care of you when
you are sick. If had to do that for the
girls they would have precious little
money left, can tell you"
when I married you. For five years l
had supported myself by it, and many a
time since have I envied myself the
purse of those days. As for my not
earning anything. now leave it to you
to say whether it would be possible to
hire another to take my place; and how
much do you suppose it would COST you
to do without me q year? know the
girls have but little left after paying
their expenses, but they enjoy that lit
tie so much I! Allie Wilson supports
herself and her mother with her wages,
and they both dress better than do.
Jennie Hart is helping her father pay
off the mortgage on his farm, and she
is so happy that she can do so. Even
Jane, the kitchen-girl has more freedom
than /, for out of her own money she is
laying by presents for her relatives,
and will send them Christmas, as much
to her own pleasure as theirs. Yester-
day an Indian woman was at the house
with such handsome bead-work to sell,
and, although wanted some money SO
much, 1 had not dollar 1 felt like
crying when Jane brought in her weeks
wages and bought half dozen articles
1 wanted so much. You often say that
all you have is mine, but five dollars
would have given me more pleasure
yesterday than your hundreds of thou
sands of dollars worth of property did"
"No doubt of that, Mrs. Jarvis.
You have no idea of the value of money,
and would have enjoyed buying lot of
bead trash that wouldn't be worth a
cent to anybody. Jane needs guard
ian if she fools away her money like
that. She will be in the county house
yet if she don't look out. It's lucky
that men do hold the money, for there's
not one woman in q hundred who knows
how to use IT.
"For shame, Donald Jarvis! You
know better! Look at Jerry and Milly
Greg, will you, and say that he makes
the best use of his money. She is at
home with her parents every night,
making her wages 60 as far as possible
toward making them comfortable, while
he is drinking and carousing in the
village, wasting his time and money,
and making a brute of himself besides.
And why does Mrs. Sarton come to re-
-ceive her husbands wages herself;
simply because he cannot get by the
saloon with money in his pocket, and if
she did not get the money they would
all 90 hungry to bed the day after his
wages are paid. And I believe that
every woman who earns money here
spends it as wisely as the. average of
men, and have yet to hear of one of
them being in debt"
Mr.. Jarvis knew that he could not
gainsay word his wife had said, for
they were all true. Luckily he thought
of Jane.
"Weu, how much do you suppose
Jane will have left when New Year
comes? If she should get sick how