Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-02-11

the pen; they might suffocate before l
AMI, cap only imagine the rest of
it for he was driving away and his
voice was lost III the distance. Pump
forty pals of water! 1t fairly took my
breath to lea, such suggestion. 1t
took more than that for the wife to ex.
cute it. studied the effect, and the
calm resignation with which the little
woman received the mild hint to take
the chances on killing herself outright
proved to me 1t was not the first hints
of the kind she had received since she
went on that farm. and, also, that she
expected to continue to receive and
expected to endeavor to execute them
though she died in the attempt.
III soon portray his return, but on
the way home we shall have to i'm.
imagine with what complaciency he
munched his sun.dried, crushed,
crumbled doughnuts, without a drop
of water to aid mastlcation or quench
his thirst. He never complained at
that but if lie had stayed at home and
come in at noon the children at school
and the wife gone to town. and had to
sit alone to cold lunch of nice bread,
sauce. butter and syrup, cold meat
and sundries, pie and cake, with
water. milk or cold tea for beverage,
lie would have grumbled all the time;
declared he couldn't stand such ill.
treatment, neglect and abuse! and by
the time his wife should return he
would look as forlorn and detected as
he need to if she had been gone six
months to visit the old home. stead,
''down east" in harvest time.
He returned, however. driving up to
the. house IN great gusto as though he
had been investing millions, and cheer.
lily sang some variation of this tune:
"Mary, Mary! are the cows home and
in :he yard? Where's mai o, there
she is las Jane appears at the door,
pale, exhausted, with doing all his
work and her own, too, fairly sup.
pressing groans as she stands with
both hands on her side (but he does
not observe it), ''howis every thing
all right, ! s'pose7 did you water the
hogs-give 'em all they wanted7 l
forgot to tell you about the calves
s'pose you thought of 'em, of course
and-say! did you notice left the colt
tied up? s'pose you did; apd"- and on
he swept wit cyclone OF lnterroga.
tons while the wife waited to camly
reply, ~ tried to look after every
thing"
The picture is true to life. Similar
cases are not infrequent nor will they
cease to be until both men and women
conceive better views of practical ed
ucation aud methods of living.
Now, it those same simple errands
had demanded attention at another
farm l could mention. the husband
would bave said something like this:
"Wite, don't you need some groceries
or something in town? have broken
whiffle.tree that must go to the Nov.
city Works, can't get along without it.
And there's the taxes we're neglect
ing, and if there's anything else you
can think Of you batter go and attend
to those things and RI look after
things at home" That has the right
ring in it! That wife would have gone
and III womanly but mastery way
transacted all the business modestly
but accurately and intelligently. This
last family proves,it to be an advanc
ed step in practical education. when
the farmers wife OF daughter can come
to town and understandingly transact
such BUSINESS as the farm demands al
any office i'll the court house, even al
the Office of lawyer. as understand
insly as the male portion of the family
am qusrying why it would not be
practical and advisable for every prop
erty owner, every farmer at least, te
establish school at home. himself as
teacher, and on these long winter even
ings instruct wife and children alike in
the "Township System of Land Sur
veys," until they thoroughly compre
bend it and can easily describe any
piece of land they are sufficiently in
terested in to pay taxes on. Then,
for examination, take the "women
folks with him to the Treasurer
Office, or any other Office the business
demands and let them pay the bills,
take receipts and transact such bust
ness until confidence takes the place
of fear. You'll be surprised to dis
cover their superior executive abillt,
and how much more intereet they take
in the farmland you and they in eacl
other mutually.
Especially is such instruction more
practical where there Is no son to lool
after the business in case the father
dies-and, as too often happens, dies
without will. In such case the con
dition of the famllyis simply pitiable
once met young lady at oul
court house door, and, noticing hel
pallor, l asked, "are you sick?" She
replied: "No, but I've been to the
Treasurer office to look after oul
taxes and never did such thing
before, but father is dead and thought
I'd try. OF course we have lawyer
to look after the business, but it make:
| it so expensive to call on him for every
thing. We're afraid we wont have
much lefs."
There you have it in nutshell
That father died without will, hae
no son and had never taught hi:
daughters 50 practical thing, so es
sential but simple a thing as how t.
pay the taxes. He was as good ant
kind father as ever lived but his life
savings we're paying the price of hi.
failure to do his duty by his family
am watching that estate with in
terest; so are the lawyers-with com
pound interest. If men would prof
by this lesson, his mistake teache:
there would be poorer lawyers bu
richer widows.