Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-02
WOMAN AND HOME.
WHAT SHOULD BE MANS SHARE
IN GOOD HOUSEKEEPING.

yoices-To Remove Freclles-Artifcial-
ity-Domest;o Unhappiness.
II we mayfor the time extend the meaning
of the word housekeeping SO that it shall in
clude the entire care Of the home, 1t is clear
that the mans share in it ought to be the
heavier Perhaps most men would be in
clined to say that as a matter Of fact it is
heavier As a rule the man has to earn the
money to buy and furnish the home, and 10
procure the food, clothing and fuel for the
family; the woman's part is to heep the house,
prepare tho food, make and repair the cloth
ing, and burn the fuel. The husband is the
provider; tho wife, the dispenser, the stew
ard. We shall leave quite out of account In
this discussion the exceptional cases in which
inherited or suddenly acquired riches render
personal labor for either man or woman un-
happily unnecessary. For mankind at large
the apostles rule Still holas good: If
man will not work neither shall he eat"
We do not believe that the labor Of merely
earning the money necessary to maintain the
home is commensurate with the labor neces-
sary to the proper expenditure of the money,
and the proper care of the things purchased.
Even If the husband, therefore, were to turn
over TO the wife all his earnings on condition
that she attend to the entire management Of
the home, he would have the better of the
bargain.
he would have the advantage, first, in the
number of hours of labor. Suppose he Is a
day laborer, his hours are eight on ten.
Leaving home after breakfast, which he
owes to previous hours labor on the part Of
his wife be goes to his work, leaving his wife
at hers, and when he returns for dinner or
supper he finds her stiIl busy; and after sup
per, while he smokes his pipe or steps out to
pass the news with neighbor, his wife must
spend another hour in putting away the
dishes, attending to the children's clothing,
and making sundry preparations for the
morning
The man has the further advantage Of
superintendent work. The hardest part Of
most labor is the worry of planning it
Ninetv-nine men out of hundred have set
tasks to perform, carefully planned and ap-
portioned, and their responsibility ceases
with the proper execution of their allotted
share. The woman, on the other hand, must
plan as well as execute. The manifold duties
of the household must be 50 timed as to con-
flict with one another as little as possible
Very much OF the WEAKNESS Of household
work might be avoided if there were wise
supervision and intelligent method.
But, again, the work Of man is far less na-
BILE to interruption. The clerk may sit on
his revolving stool for hours and never have
his attention diverted from his commercial
arithmetic; the farmer may drive his polished
plow through countless burrows with no more
annoying Interruptions than an occasional
stubborn bowlder or nest of buzzing bees;
the clergyman sits in his study with bolted
door, far removed from the requirements Of
children, the chatter of visitors or the wants
OF servants. But the wives of these men can
rarely pursue their labors for single hour
without many Interruptions. In the first
place many different things have 10 be man
aged at the same time; while the dinner is
cooking the table is being set the baby is
watched, and the "front room" is busted.
Then if there are servants, they are in con-
slant need of supervisors; if the door bell
rings, the business or pleasure Of the caller
must be ascertained, the children must be
started punctually to school and luncheon
provided for them, and so on.
Men, too, have better tools for their work
than women. It is only in recent years that
the attention Of inventors has been turned
toward this subject, and still, with the not
able exceptions of the sewing machine and
wringer, what important addition has been
made to the working tools of woman7 Com
pare a plano and chisel with q kitchen knife,
the hydraulic press with jelly bagl II men
had to stir the haSty pudding Of America for
one month, there would be thousand appli-
cations for patents on stirring machines
within the thirty days.
Finally, men receive direct compensation
for their work, while women for their house
work. Of course, never do; and while on the
one hand they do not want it, on the other
hard there isa wonderful incentive to patient
toll in the anticipation of q definite recogni-
ton OF ones labor in the form Of money. 1t
seems pleasanter to work and earn $40 than
to do $40 worth of work at home
If i'll addition to these things we consider
the engrossing wearing duties Of women as
wives and mothers. is it not evident that
their position in the home is one Of unequal
services Disproportionate not merely to their
physical strength, but actually greater In
amount and life waste than that of men.
If this is true, and if our first proposition
be admitted, namely: that the mans share
ought to be the heavier, we are ready for the
question, what ought TO be mans part in
good housekeepingi What ought the man to
do besides merely earning the money to sup
port himself and familyF
In the light Of the preceding discussion it
seems clear he should first of all help his vito
in planning her work. Let every husband |
give his wife the beneft-of his practical bust |
ness experience, and advise with her how she /
may best arrange and time her several duties |
that they may least conflict
In the second place, the husband should |
give the wife the full amount of money nee
essary properly to care for the home.
Third-Ha should see that she has tie best |
tools that can be had to Tighten her labor
Fourth-He should by every possiblemea
shorten her hours OF labor. If he finds that |
she is obliged to work earlier and later than |
he, then he should at once give or procure |
for her such assistance as viii make their
working hours equal
Ffth-Realizing that for her labor she re-
ceives no direct compensation, be should, at
the least, be careful DO give continually that
reward OF cordial praise, which costs him
nothing and SO much phases her.
Finally, the man must recognize that
many of the domestic duties are essentially
proper to him, and not to tho woman; such
are all that require great physical e1ertion.
Therefore, not only should proper imple-
Inents be generously furnished for the
woman's use, but ell the materials she must
use shonld be provided and made easily &C
cessible Plenty of coal, wood and kindhngs
should be kept near the place where they are
to be burned, water should Be supplied so as
to be handy and abundant. plenty of hooks,
shelves, closets, etc, should be arranged to
the best advantage
At house cleaning time tho man should
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