The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-10-13
THE WIFE'S WAGES.


said Mr. Jarvis TO his wife, who stood
looking rather anxiously at him, after he
had paid the factory hands their weeks
wages.
"Why, Donald" said she, II thought,
as had worked for you all the week, 1
would come for nay wages, too. You
pay Jane so week; surely earn that,
and l would like very much to have it
as my own"
"Pshaw, Nettie, how ridiculous you
talk. You know that all have belongs
60 you and the children-and don't
Furnish the house and everythingp
What under the sun would you do with
the money il you had it?"
81 know, Donald, that you buy the
necessaries for us all, and am willing
Chat you should do so still, but should
like a little money Of my very own. We
have been married fifteen years, and in
all that time [ do not seem to have
earned dollar. AS far as money is
concerned, might as we'll be slave,
J. cannot buy a quart Of berries, nor
book, without asking you for the money,
and / should like to be little more
Independent"
Mr.. Jarvis, proprietor of Jarvis mills,
worth thousands and thousands Of dol
lars, laughed derisively,
you're a fine one to talk of in
dep ndenca," he said. eff you would
st.rt ou5 to make your own living you'd
fetch MP in the poor-house soon enough,
for what could you do to earn living?
The girls in the factory knew how TO do
their work, and they earn theA,
wages, When ] have paid them my
duty is done, but have to board and
clothe you and take care of you when
you ure sick. Ii l had to DO that for
the girls I would have precious little
money left, L can tel Won"
Donald, / gave up q good trade
when l married you. For five years /
had supported myself by it, and many
q time since have / enyied myself the
pucse 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 to
do without me year? / know the
girls have little after paying their ex-
penses, but they enjoy that little so
much. Allie Watson supports herself
aud her mother With her wages, and
they both dress better than I do.
Jennie Hart is helping her father to pay
off the mortgage on his farm, and she is
happy that she can do So Even Jane,
tn kitchen girl has more freedom than
], for out of her own money she is lay
ing by presents for her relatives, and
will send them Christmas, as much to
her own pleasure as theirs. Yesterday
an Indian woman was at the house with
such handsome bead work to SELL and,
although wanted some money 80 much,
I had not q dollar 1 felt like crying
when Jane brought in her weeks wages
and bought half dozen articles that +
wanted so much. You often say that all
you have is mine, but rs would have
given me more pleasure yesterday than
your hundre Is of thousands of dollars
worth of property did"
mo doubt of that Mrs. Jarvis. You
have lao idea of the value of money, and
would have enjoyed buying lot of
bead trash that would not be worth
cent to anybody. Jane needs q guar
dian if she fools away her money like
that, She Will be in the county poor
house yet if she don't look out. It's
very lucky, indeed that men do hold
She money, for there's not one woman
In hundred who knows how to use it'll"
"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
homo with her parents every night,
m}5ing them comfortable, while he is
corou ing in the village wasting his
time and money and making brute of
himself beside. And why does Mrs.
Sarton come to receive her husbands
wages herself? Simply because he can
not get by the saloon with money in
his pocket, and if she did not get the
money they would all go hungry to bed
nf or his wages were paid. And L be-
heye that every woman that earns
money here spends it as wisely as the
average men, and have yet to hear of
oAe of them being in debt"
n Jarvis kpew that he could not
gansay a word his wife had said, for
they were all true. Luckily he thought
Of Jane,
WELL how much do you suppose
Jane will have left when New Year
comes? If she would get sick how long
could she pay for care such as you
have?"
ut is not likely she will lay up many
dollars out of hundred year; but she
is laying up something better, I think.
Last winter she sent her mother warm
shawl and pair of shoes, and to her
brother and sister new school books;
andthe warm, loving letters they send
her do her more good than twice the
amount of money in the bank would.
This year she is laying by number of
useful and pretty things for them, and
If any misfortune should happen to Jane
they would only be too glad to help
her"
well, who do you suppose would
help you if you needed help?" said Mr..
Jarvis, for want of better question.
Mrs. Jarvis eyes sparkled angrily as she
answered:
NNbNAJ' IL YOU SuOulI IOS6 your
property to-day I should be a beggar,
without claim on any one for help.
You have always held your purse strings
so tightly that it has been hard enough
to ask for my own necessities, leaving
others out altogether. Many time a
dollar or two would have enabled me to
do some poor man or woman untold
good, but, although you have always
sdSd that all your property was mine, I
never could, and cannot now, command
a dollar of it."
"Lucky you couldn't, if you wanted
to spend it on beggars."
Donald, you know that I would
spend money as wisely as you do Who
was it that, only last week, gave poor,
lame beggar So to pay his fare to Bur-
ton, and then saw him throw his
crutches aside and make for the nearest
saloon? Your wife could not do worse,
if trusted with a few dollars. You say
that the money is all mine. vet YOU
spend 1t as you please, while cannot
spend dollar without asking you for it
and telling what I want Is for 49,