The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-06-08
Money Question in Households
 Discussed by Bright Women NOMAN'S BUSINESS SENSE
Some interesting Experiences of 6lr- nlngham Women Who Have suc- cessfulIy Tried the Allowance
 Plan-Society News. 5i
BY ANNIE KENpRlck WALKER.

While the men on the street cars, or at their clubs. or enjoying smoke upon the balcony may be discussing real es- tate values and the building of sky scrapers" and whether they should close out their oil stock. the women are dis cussing the vegetable market and the price of eggs, and the ''beef trust" With present prices, the meat man" and the practical woman are waging bloodless war, and the woman who has an allow ance" Is threatening to boycott the butch er The present advance in prices of the necessities for the table provoked a dis cussion recently among a group of wo- men as to the practicability of month- ly "allowance' for household expenses.
 Those who have always had an arrange ment of this kind declared that upon no other basis should housekeeping be con- ducted, but a bright woman who had never tried the plan frankly admitted that her husband seemed to have little regard as to her business sense," and had never trusted her with an "allow- ance." She went on to Say, that while she had every luxury, and all the pretty clothes she wanted. that she really did not have any money that she could spend in her own way. Her husband paid the grocery bill just as he did the laundry man and the gas bill, and the bills for her gowns were settled promptly. But she did not have an allowance"
 The point was raised in the discussion, that men who gave their wives an "al- lowance." were inclined to give them selves an unlimited allowances" in oth- CT words where a man had entire con- trol of the purse strings, 1t never occur red to him to limit himself. but when the allowance for his wife was considered, he was only too willing to limit 1t, and looked upon her with suspicion If she dared Ego over 1t"
 Just what would be considered jus tice" in this matter brought forth so many opinions, that I am afraid I should not deliberatly purloin them, since they were expressed in the privacy of bou- doir but in casting around for a Sunday story" I cannot think of any subject mort interesting than the question of an allowance" as discussed by these clever women, while their husbands were blocks away.
 'I think that 1t Is more satisfactory in every way" said a woman of many years experience in housekeeping. Now I began housekeeping with the knowledge that my husbands salary did not exceed three thousand year and we were both ambitious to accumulate something and not spend it all in keeping up our estab- lishment l wanted to assist him in every way that was possible and I recognized that 1t was just as necessary for me to know how we stood at the end of the month as for him to do so. really be- lieve that 1t was due to our perfect un- derstanding of the money question that tided us over the early days of our mar ried life and made them very peaceful and happy
 T could not have stood any broils about my bills, and I should advise all women to manage their housekeeping upon the allowance plan. Of course, I mean those women whose husbands income ranges from thousand to ten thousand a year. Where mans income goes beyond ten thousand. he should not limit his family"
 A young woman who has only been married one year admitted that it would be humiliating to her to have to have to ask her husband for money. Her father has already settled upon her A monthly income and this she used for her private expenses, while the house. hold finances were managed by her hus- band They had not discussed the all lowance plan, and she did not know what their monthly expenses were. She had heard her husband say what his cigar bill was, and she knew how much she
 
 cook, but her knowledge ended here.
 T could not manage at all without my allowance said a charming woman who has a boy at college "I have an allowance for the house." she continued. f"and then a separate allowance for my own use. At least, I try to keep them separate but frequently in balancing, I find that I have used my personal al- lowance in something for the house. But the allowance is mine to be spent as I choose or to be put Tn the bank as I prefer.''
 "The main thing about an allowance" said bright woman, lis in impressing ones husband that you have just as much right to spend money as he has. This way of men believing that they should hold the pocket book and only loosen Its strings when the woman meek ly asks for money and then to reluctantly give her a few dollars with the remark that he gave her dollar and a half last week, is enough to make women rebel There is nothing more humiliating to a