The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-03-19
Do Farmers Wives Pay =!

lHuy correspondent OF tne country
Gentleman discusses the question a, lnl.
lows:
We are not in the habit Of writing tor
the papers, and have some fears lest you
should th,uk this once too many times
for Us to aspire to such honor as your
notice, but, there has been considerable
discussion Of late IN to whether EARNING
pays" aud the question occurs TO us,
do Farmers Wives Pay 2" a man can
rs,ima,e with some degree Of accuracy,
the cot and value OF his lands, stock i,
labor, &c, Tut who can estimate the
| worth 1i his wife?
Now We wish to leave out Of sight all
estimate-all reference to the little com
fnrls and felicitica that go TO mske up
the sum OF domestic happiness, and come
| right 10 the practical question. Does q
| uIng woman, who come. to her husband
with little or no dowry, but with willing
heart and hands, and II fair share Of in
| diligence, who takes care of him, lis
house and of his family as it increases,
without hired help. really earn anything
nl"re than her food aud clulhing?
n" man will 1ay but what that a good
| wiie ia n .rrnsure. Certainly. her care
| and labor secure him many cumfnris.
worth in dollars aud cents? !, j. n great
comfort to him 10 have his three meal, a
day properly cooked and prepared 1t
hours tina, suit hi- convenience.
He can swallow Il dinner in twenty
nr thirty minutes that she has been AL
| the forenoon preparing. lie may think
estimate, think you. he would put upnn
4 Il
With what asloDIalmpnt and disgust
would lie look upon his table set out with
dishes that had no, been washed since
they were last u-td. hut how high "A
money value would he pu, upon this nir
rnnlnnlic item Of washing the dishes.
wnici,, nevertheless. .akes 80 large II share
of w0nIan's time?
With what satisfaction lie puts on the
clean, smoothly ironed shirt, and the
,urks nicely darned !! They do not look
much lik" the ones he pulled of last
week and threw down with the wash :?
Some one had to rub pretty smariiy to
get the dirt all out some one sI,cnt an
hour or sn In darning the un-ightly holes
in the heels OF those stockings. Aud
this is done, not this week only, but every
week II, surely a> il comes round. Now
he dos appreciate cleanliness, uulwith.
standIng his prote-tations against wash
ing days and house cleaning. But is it
really worth anything in money!
Then there III the care nf the milk and
the butter making. Every day must the
milk be taken care of, the cream must he
churned at the proper time, and the but
ter properly worked and sailed. lie is
proud to have her make god buttpr-is
quite happy when his neighbnr says, Il
want 10 engage my butter of you this
-easnn, for think your wife makes the
best butter Of any nrOund." But then
are not the cows his? DUes he not fur
ni-h tho feed and do the milking? l.
| her work slight, compared with his? is
il really worth anything in dollars and
cents to do her part7
| Then there Is the care of the children :;
e,rly and late are her energies taxed to
take care al them. SHe is interested
there, Of course but then she don't pre-
end 10 own but half, Though some men
VI d tdin make it the lnrger half. l. it
really worth nothing TO sonthe. n,n,ise.
teach, feed and slmuk hi- half. to make
anl make over, and mend the clothes i"r
his hait7 Thn, is real work Where is
the man who will say it does not require
all w0muu'a wit. this care fur their
chidren, but il asked To place money
ts.imate upon it. to what figure think
yuu il would fall ?
A farmers wife that really does her
own work hns no easy task, as can be
proved by thousands Of our country
women but We would not ask FIR her
more than is justly due. If there is any
tandnrd hy which the value of her ser.
vices can be htly estimated, we would
ike 10 know it. We wish to know
whether there may be my surplus in her
Iavor! Whether, when she a.ks fur u
lew dollars for the purpnse Of something
not strictly necessary-a buok perhaps
she ought to feel that she in asking for
his hardly earned means, or whether she
has right to feel it is her due. If the
value of her labor does not ordinarily
equal her expenses. we would like to
know how much she is ID credit to her
husbands generosity. Can any one
an-w-r7 Young men should ponder
these questions, aud let maidens beware
It no snti-fuclnry answer can be given,
for farmers wife has life of too
much toll to make it desirable, IL, with
oil her labor. che is still considered n
beggar.