Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-10-21

has '-touchy points, and stoukhy
points" were life long source OF actual
sorrow TO his wife. who was good
and faithful wife ard mother, tidy,
thrifty and ever watchful OF the CON-
mon interests Of the family She was
economical to the last degree and
most Industrious. She seemed to me
70 be a model wife. Her husband
thought so. too, and would have augrI-
~ resented Any fnputation 10 the
contrary. He taught his children to
honor and love their mother. Though
failing, as il seemed to me, IN mani <:
Testing love and honor for her himself
at all times, but these times were only
when his f-tonchisst point" had been
pressed upon.
0He day / accidentally heard the
wife say to her eldest daughter. No,
dear; I cannot AJAX Your father for
money for you a new hat. You know
how very touchy he is on that point,
/ sometimes lie awake half the night
trying to devise some method OF
scrimping and saving so that IBeed
not say the word +money' TO youf
father. Nothing hurts him so mach
as to be asked for little money. j
dread 10 think OF asking him for mon
ey for anything"
was tneesed to- Mrs Dane at that
time, and made 4 solemn vow that
she should have a purse OF her own
and that it should never 90 empty II
had anything to put IN it. We have
now been married SIX years, and
have faithfully adhered co that reso-
luton. And there is no fixed sum
about it. Household expenses vary
at different Seasons Of the year and
under various circumstances. Ten
dollars will, perhaps, cover al OF
the expenses of one week, and the
next may be a canning" or a ''com-
pany" week, and several extra dol
lars viii be required. In any case, /
resent the idea that my vile is a mere
pensioner on my bounty; reject the
inputation that she has not common
sense enough 10 know the valsle OF
money and dare not be trusted with
it. l am not a ''woman's Fighter"
in The popular sense of the term, but
thank the Lord that i am man
enough TO recognize the fact that my,
wife, as my wife and the mother OF
my children, has rights, money spend
ing rights, that have no business in
terfering with. Every good wife should
have this right as a royal marriage
prerogative | regard Mrs. Dane as
an equal partner in the contract I'M
der which NE have become a firm for
life We share profits and losses
alike There is one money-drawer, to
which we both have free access. l.
have not the inclination nor the
right TO limit my wife in her daily
expenditures, so long as those ex-
pendltures are within reason Most
wives and mothers honestly earn
all they spend A woman who does
her duty as wife and mother earns
more than money can pay for. 1t
must be very humiliating to woman
TO have TO hunably and tremblipgly
ask her husband for the money she
must have for her actual daily ex-
penses. Any sensitive, womanly
woman must feel it something of a
degradation to have to thus ask, or
even coax. for money given grudgiDgly
and complainingly at last.
knew of woman who said once
that the only way shecould ret money
from her husband for other than her
actual household expenses was by
watching her chance and slyiy eR-
tracing bills from his purse when be
was ASLEEP or ms coat was of. mag.
inc a wife forced into such a degrading
act as that. Women are often COM
PEELED to practice mean, niggardly,
cruel economy IN order to make their
expenses come within the limit Fixed
by inexorable husbands, who would
furiously resent any interference with
their own expenditures
i believe that this simple question
of the wife allowance haswrecked the
happiness ofrnany a household! Men
are SO often blind and unfeeling and
unreasonable in this matter. And OF
course there are women who must
have a tight rein kept upon them be
cause of their tendency TO sl!ful and
wo'nl electromagnetic. There is. fear,
little chance for happiness in a home
having such a mistress over it. But
the majority OF women can be trusted,
Let the husbands ofwiyes thus worthy
trust them, and this trust will not
often be abused
Z My own personal experience has been
that money is,ssser with women than
githsmen. Most women can beat a
man all to pieces" making bargain,
and the marketmen and groeers seldom
get ahsad OF them, whereas most men
are careless purchasers.