The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-10-25
RICH MEMS WIVES.

RICH MEMS WIVES.
| Mistaken Ideas Which People Have Re-
sardIng the wives OF Wealthy Mepp-
Business Affairs In the Household.
Poverty is a relative term. Its mean
ing changes with the changing of one s
point OF view. Those only are poor
who feel poor. but whether one feels
poor or not depends much upon ones
situation.
You can never be sure that woman
Is rich. says writer in Business Wom-
ans Record, because she is the wife of a
wealthy man; not even though the mar
rage ceremony has made the husband
say: with all my worldly goods ]
thee endow." This ceremonious speech
is hardly meant to be taken literally.
but how worse than empty rhetoric il
is when the wife of the rich man who
utters it has never q cent she can call
her own!
1t is seldom. probably. that rich
mans wife has not some small sum in
her own little purse; but it is also sell
dom, if we may judge from ?pear-
ances. that she has an income properly
proportional to her husbands. You
can not Judge Of this by her dress or
the equipments of her house. The hus-
band may crafty his own pride and his
own taste by a lavish expenditure in
ornamentation OF his house and family.
He may allow his wife TO purchase
freely from the stores of the city. hav-
ing the bills sent to him for cheerful
payment, yet possibly the wife some
times finds herself literally penniless
] don't think the case is often so bad,
but it is very evident that some wives
of rich men are frequently put to shame
for lack of ability to give in charity or
in friendship 1.-THE of what their hus-
bands spend upon their own personal
whims and pleasures. School teachers
and seamstresses may be able to sur
pass them in generosity and in freedom
to indulge their personal tastes.
"Why should my wife want money!"
the husband may ask, IF she has all OF
her wants suppliedP What difference
does it make whether the money that
supplies them goes through her own
purse?"
No one can tell the wants of another.
1t makes one difference between child
hood and years of discretion. You can
not tell persons taste unless that per-
son has money and time to crafty her
taste. A little of each will suffice to
Indicate the natural taste. but there are
women who wear rich silks and jewels
in positive discomfort. because the col
ors, styles and combinations are not
to their taste. The one who buys them
for her does not realize that he is seek
ing his own qualification more than his
wifes.
Once it was believed that a married
pair could not live happily together il
the wife had separate purse. That
was in the day when the laws gave the
husband absolute ownership of his wife.
Her clothes. her wages, her inherit
ance, her body, and even her soul-to
the extent of controlling its outward
forms of religion-were all legally in
the husbands possession. Little by
little these shameful. laws have been
modified. and public opinion now de.
spises the man who does not deal fairly
with his wife.
Yes, times have changed, and many
a happy wife now holds property in her
own name and uses the income from
her investments just as she pleases.
She may even carry on business for
herself, or have a business partnership
with her husband. Whether this is
well or not depends upon circum-
stances, chief among which are the
claims of children; and the good sense
of the parties must determine each
case.
Marriage is far higher than a mere
civil contract, and pecuniary consider
ations are the least that should in
fiuence one. But external conditions
have such power to perplex and dis
turb that they can not safely be ig-
nored in making promise for better
or worse. 1t will never do to blame
the husbands for all the niggardliness
that appears among women. A selfish
wife is sometimes serious check upon
the generosity and public spirit of her
husband, begrudging every contribu-
ton to the public welfare. One can
not help wondering where is the hitch
when wealthy mems wives who approve
a good cause. or who desire the reading
of a particular paper or magazine.
have nothing to give in aid of that
cause, or go without the desired liter
AZURE. An allowance" does not al
ways settle the difficulty. especially if
the allowance includes the household
expenses. Its smallness sometimes
causes a meanness toward the kitchen
maid and such higgling with hucksters
as creates widespread contempt for
the mistress Of the mansion. Or, if the
mistress is kind and generous. she may
fail entirely of saving anything from
the bills she pays for her own per
sonal expenses"
Why can not wife ask her husband
for what she wants on each occasion?"
Put yourself in her place and realize
the besgary this implies. unless she
goes to him simply as a matter Of con-
venience and with perfect assurance
of her recognized right to receive; the
husband acting as the family cashier
who can more conveniently receive and
pay out the common fund.
A separate purse is not necessity.
A common fund is all right if it really