The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-05-22
A WIFE2S WAGES.
How Mrs. Jarvis Secured Pay for
Her Services.

The following sketch is wrought out
of substantial materials, the experience
of many woman in married life, and
its vivid character, with the practical
moral it carries, is excuse enough for
its appearance here:
"Well, Nettie, what do you wantp"
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, 81 thought
as l had worked for you all the week,
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 ridiculous you
talk. You know that all l have belongs
to you and the children-and don't /
furnish the house and eVerythingP What
under the sun would you do with the
money if you had ito"
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 l do not seem to have
earned dollar AS far as money is
concerned l might as well be slave.
can not buy a quart of berries, or a
book, without asking you for the money,
and l should like to be little more in
dependent, D."
MIR. Jarvis, proprietor of Jarvis mills,
worth thousands and thousands of dol
lars, laughed derisively.
You're q fine one to talk of indie
pendence, " he said. eff you would start
out to make your own living you d fetch
up at the poor-house soon enough, for
what could you do to earn 1iyingp
The girls in the factory know how to do
their work and they earn their wages.
When | have paid them off my duty is
done, but / have to board and clothe
you, and take care of you when you are
sick. II | had to do that for the girls |
would have precious little money left,
can tell YOU"
Donald, | gave up good trade when
l married you. For five years I had
supported myself by it, and many time
since l have envied myself the purse of
those days. As for my not earning any
thing now, l leave it to you to say
whether it would be possible to hire an
other to take my place; and how much
do you suppose it would cost to do with
out me yearP | know the girls have
little after paying their expenses, but
they enjoy that little so much. Allie
Watson supports herself and mother
with her wages, and they both dress
better than | do. Jennie Hart is help
ing her father to pay the mortgage ON
the farm, and she is happy that She can
do so. Even Jane, the kitchen girl,
has moro freedom than l, for out of her
own money she is laying by presents for
her relatives, and viii send them
Christmas. Yesterday an Indian
woman was at the house with such
handsome baadwork to sell, and, a.
though l wanted some very much, had
not t, dollar! | felt like crying when
Jane bought half q dozen of the arti-
cles / wanted so much. You often saw
that all you have is mine, but five dol
lars would have given me more pleas
ure yesterday than your hundreds of
thousands 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 would not be worth q
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 the men do
hold the money, for there's not one
woman in 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
homo with her parents every night.
making her wages go as far as possible
toward making them comfortable,
while he is carousing in the village
wasting his time and money, and max
ing Il brute of himself besides. 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 after his wages were
paid. And ! believe that every woman
who earns money here spends it as wise
ly as the average man, and I have vet
to hear of one of them being in debt"
MIR. Jarvis knew that he could not
gainsay 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
comesP If she got sick how long could
she pay for such care as you have?"
1T is not likely she will lay up
many dollars out of hundred a year;
but she is laying up something better,
think. Last winter she sent her
mother warm shawl and q pair
of shoes, and to her brother and
sister new school-books, and the
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 away number
OF uSeIul anu preCly LnlngS Tor them,
and if any misfortune sho@ld happen to
Jane they would only be too glad to
help hex"
well, who do you suppose would
help you if you needed helpp" said Mr..
Jarvis, for want of o better question.
Mrs. JARVIS eyes sparkled angrily as
she answered.:
Nobody If you should lose your
property to-day, should be 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,