Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-08
RIGHTS OF WIVES.

RIGHTS OF WIVES.
Mrs. William Todd Helmuth, former
President of Sorosis, has taken up the
cudge In behalf of the rights OF
wives to a liberal part Of their hus-
bands incomes. The married wo-
man has right to a certain proper
tion Of her husbands money" she de-
clares When he gives IC to her he is
not granting her a privilege, but ac-
lnowledging a claim.
The amount that should come to
ihe wife must. of course, be decided
by circumstances Perhaps it may
seem best that the housekeeping bills
should come to him-although, as a
rule, it is wiser to make an allowance
for household expenses and let the
wife do the disbursing Of the funds.
Still, she may yield that point if it
seems expedient.
THE wife may even under some
conditions, be willing to have her ac-
counts for dress settled by her hus-
bands check, though this is seldom
expedient. The woman who has a
dress allowance and feels she must
keep within it is far less likely to run
into extravaganza than the woman
who is not entirely clear as to how
much may go for chiffons. The very
uncertainty is trying in more ways
than one.
Though the husband may pay the
butcher and grocer, the millner and
the dressmaker. he should not run
into the blunder of fancying that his
wife has no call for any money be-
yond the occasional dime or quarter
he grants her for carfare There is
convincing testimony that the major
ity of women have to ask their hus-
bands for spending money or hypothe-
cate the household accounts In order
to get it.
| know one ideal husband who has
never in a married life of thirty years
obliged his wife to so to him for
money. There is a certain drawer in
her desk where he places what he can
afford to let her have every week. The
drawer is never allowed to get empty.
Moreover, he never asks her to ac-
count for a cent Of it. That man
should have a halo for his daily wear.
Plenty Of other husbands make a
household allowance, or even a dress
allowance, to their wives. But many
more dole out what they think will
be needed and apparently imagine
that their wives can get what change
they need in some mysterious, unex-
planned fashion, without having re-
sort to the ordinary money-malling
means.
If women were not l0ngsuffering
creatures there would have been an
organized revolt long ago. No man
has a right to submit his wife to the
humiliation she must undergo when
she is Obliged to decline to make small
contributions in church or club be-
cause she has not the ready money.
She may have an account in half
dozen shops Her clothing may be the
envy of her friends, her house may be
finely appointed, but when it comes to
a call for a chance quarter or half dol
lar she has not the cash in hand.
Let the husband. at any rate, give
the wife a chance to prove whether
or not she is to be trusted with
money Should she show herself un-
fitted to handle it is is time enough
for him to withdraw her allowance
and treat her as he would a child Of
nine or ten. But there are few wo-
men who are unworthy of having the
charge of their own spending money.
AS a rule, they are quite as careful as
their husbands in the matter of small
expenses and have a horror Of bills
that is often unknown to the lords OF
creation.-Chicago Chronicle