The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1893-03-13
WHO SHALL HOLD THE PuRsE7
Are Not Women sIcre to Elamc Than
Men in the Matter of Money?

Are Not Women 5Icre to blame Than /
Men in the Matter of sIoney?
Talk about German women being /
oppressed and downtrodden"' said a
spirited daughter of that nation. eve
may black our husbands shoes now and
then If there Is no servant to do il. but
in one thing, If I have been informed
rightly, we have greatly the advantage
Of American women. 1t Is taken for
granted with Us that the wife must have
the spending Of the main part Of the in
come for all the family needs. That i
| her part Of the work
/ This view has been always held sOfar
/ as l know, and | ASSURE yOu that tyran-
/ nical husbands find some other way Of
making their power felt than by holding
back the money for daily uecessaries.
why, the bills must be met; the
family must live in the style decided Or
as proportional TO the income. Why
haggle about it?
But am told that IN America wives
rarely hold the family purse, and unless
a woman has money IN her own right
she must ask. often beg, for every penny
she has Why. Z German woman would
feel degraded with that sort Of treat
ment Besides. how can she wisely plan
unless she can know how much money
she has to use during the month or the
quarter What one can afford is al
matter of comparison and proportion.
1t is the most common thing IN our
lower and middle classes for the wife To
draw the pay, keep the handbook and
order the expenditure of every penny OF
the income even to buying the hus-
bands clothes"
The reason why the married woman in
our country does not have as matter
of course more power over the income
seems to be partly her own fault. Does
she start out right in the very first year:
Is she imbued with the idea that she
and her husband are founding family
| whose prosperity and whose standing III
the community is their common inter
est? Does she feel that in this matter
there is no meum and teum; that all
plans and sacrifices must be made to
= gether? There are plenty of cases where
a selfish or thoughtless young man has
( been brought to this view of things by
clever wife, and thenceforth they were
equal partners with equal rights. Bu
let a woman once begin that childish
! teasing for new gown or new furniture
9 and suspicious are aroused in the minC
3 of the money Garner that it will be hare
s to allay. If he is man Of any charac
D ter he will feel that he must protect HI
t family as to the essentials-a safe sur
: plus in the bank account and growing
t fund for old age or emergencies.
g He begins to prefer paying bills who's
t items he can scan to giving ready none.
r into the hands of his wife. She vii
@ make mistakes now and then, but If In
f stead of owning them up and takin
\ counsel as to better ways she deceive
y and conceals she is sealing her fate. II
S feels if he does not know this conceal
L ment. and now and then he will know II
and the painful result is we'll enoug
: known to us. 1t would be interesting t
s hear from every woman who finds hel
I self in middle life lacking the confidenC
o of her husband in money matter
: whether the fault is entirely his or if sh
: does not in looking back find grave mi
h takes on her own side.-Mary H. Abel i
d ST. Louis Republic.