Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-13
A PLEA FOR WIFE BEATERs.
Some Views About the Proper Meth~i1
OF Domestic Discipline.

CVmnC VIeWS AUVut the kEODeR MGthO0
OF Domestic Discipline.
AN INCIDENT IN REAL LIFE GIVES RISE 10 A
DISCUSSION AT THE CLUB-How WIVES NAY
BE REGULATED AND DOMESTIC QUESTIONS
SETTLED WITH THE LEAST TROUBLE AND Elk.
PENsE.
~ had q rather novel experience the other
evening"" remarked q gentleman to a group OF
friends, as they sat in the smoking room of q
Washington club, enjoying their after dinner
cigars.
This remark elected no response. but the at
tentive silence that ensued was taken as an in
dication that the listeners were prepared to
hear all about this novel experience, and so the
gentlemen continued.
81 was passing along a street, which shall
not name, but 1t Is suffient to say that 1t
was in respectable locality. when I
stopped and listened. aud soon made u %p mx
judged from the other sounds that some one
lords of creation was exercising his marital
rights, was about to pass on, but the cries OF
blows feii thicker and laster that Could not
the walk az sba shs binds
sounds convinced me that this social episode was
taxing place in the front room on the ground
floor. The front door was fastened, and as no
attention was paid to either the bell or vigorous
knocks, pressed against the door, which gave
way, and found myself in o well-furnished
upon the scene and the participants, Who were were
SO actively engaged that they did not zee me.
Pulling the man off from the PROSTATE form OF
the woman, whom he was hammerinR in q
most horrible manner, found that the woman
was literally covered with blood and bleeding
tSa WAS SO en5ased at the c9ward brute
give him good thrashing. I had hardly begun
TO polish him off in my most scientific style,
and,
BLEEDING AND EXHAUSTED
as she was, began to assist her husband to
pound me. soon found that had more than
l had bargained for, but l was resolved to
punish the man, and so keeping off the
woman as best 1 could with my left hand
l gave her husband with hearty good will
the full benefit of my right baud. The woman
was as active as a cat, and when got through
her athrashins, and under the circumstances
don't know but what she deserved it. How
ever, after satisfying myself that the man was
woman and hurried out 81 the house, followed
by her hearty abuse I have always heard that
this was the fate Of the outsider who had the
temerlty to Interfere between man and wife in
their domestic arrangements, and this gave me
a practical illustration which should not for
This experience concluded the gentleman
with laugh sis that the dictates ofhumanity
are sometimes to be disregarded."
Nv hen Il man is such q brute to strike his
wife," exclaimed, with great warmth, one of
the listeners, a young man recently married.
"lnere Is In my opinion no treatment sufi-
right, and 1 would do the same without regard
to who the woman was. The mere fact that
she was woman and had been struck by a
man, would be enough for me-
There followed general chorus OF comments
some siding with the last speaker and Others
which made it possible them haj
affection even after such treatment. This last
topic proved so fruitful in discussian and
as we'll as Others common to the sex, that the
conversation soon driited far away from the
original topic.
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE.
An elderly gentleman Of considerable expert
ence, however, brought back the discussion by
saying:
II think that the sentiments expressed In re-
gard to the brutality Of men who strike women
are extremely clivalrOus according to the gen.
orally accepted ideas Of modern society. Yet Is
don't wish to appear In the role of an apollo
gist for wife beaters; but still will say that ex-
perience has proved that domestic jars are in
separable from married life. the great question
is, how shall these be conducted? Modern So
ciety prOnounces 1t vulgar and brutal for q man
to punish his wife physically, although he is
or amid the elegance OF q drawing room to so
maltreat aud lacerate his wife with the weapon
of his tongue that she bears the scars for years,
and sometimes receives mortal thruStS. In these
polished times 1t may seem dreadful for q man
and wife to fall upon each other as the boot
blacks do upon the streets, but still this method
of settling personal difficulties has the merit of
being very ancient, and to this day is one of
the most satisfactory forms that has ever been
devised. Some Of the best friends have, or
ever expect to have, either thrashed me or they
were thrashed by me, somehow it has the
effect of wonderfully clearing up the atmos-
phere, domestic and otherwise"
You don't mean to say that you are in favor
OF wife beating?' exclaimed the young man in
rather aghast a: these sentiments
mo, not exactly" replied the old man as he
took a fresh cigar and settled down comfort
the different phases of domestic differences The
right OF man to beat his wife is acknowledged
The only thing is that public sentiment in some
quarters is against 1t. That is when people are
talking about the affairs OF others. You remem-
Der the case in the New York courts of the man
arraigned on the charge of beating woman,
and who, pleading in extenuation that he
thought she was his wife, the judge dismissed
the case. The legal right of man to thus correct
worse methods. Take for example a young
couple just married and in their new home.
surrounded by the articles of bric-a-brac which
loving friends have bestowed. In the course of
the conversation on some topic OF mutual in
terest it may happen that one or the other may
wish to aceentuate what is said more forcibly
than the resources of the English language will
the table is thrown. This is followed BY other Hr
ooJccts VI ornaments ana perhaps the foot
rests and the smaller articles of furniture, and
when the discussion is concluded, the beautiful
room and its contents is q ruin. Such a method
is expensive more SO then the physical line of
argument, because in that case little water
removes the blood and piece of beef or cold
iron allays the swelling in the face. However,
II a man and wife wish to engage in q little
friendly set to in order to settle some disputed
point, or decide who is to map out the domestic
discipline there Is no need of arousing the
toshapeless masses There ought to be modera-
ton in every thing.
WHEN WE ARE ALL ANGELS
allow would 1t do to exercise such modera-
ton as to dispense with domestic jars in all its
phases?" asked one of the group who had been
a silent listener.
dispense fiddlesticks," growled the old man.
"You might as we'll talk of dispensing with
human nature. When the millennium comes
and we are all angels perhaps it will be diff.
trent. But under the present regime we have
to recognize things as they are. It is all very
we'll for people TO roll up their eyes
jar gets wider publicity than usual, but we
can't conclude that such occurrences are rare. I
am not In favor Of carrying physical force to
excess in such affairs. but think that it is q
with their hands than with their tongues, and
it seems to me that the disfavor with which
physical domestic discipline is re-
garded in these modern days is one
great cause for the increase in the
number OF divorces granted. There is no need
either of destroying valuable furniture or dis
figuring persons. Young married people in
stead of turning their Satsuma cups int o crackle
ware in the heat Of q domestic discussion
might have missiles Of convenient sizes about
thus facilitating the course of the debate with
out any serious permanent injury. 1t would