The San Francisco call., 1903-12-03
Wages of WifehoOd. :
by JOSEPH n. WEBER
Theatrical Manager and Author-l
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last voice, the final word on the SUD-
ject (not too common event in mar
ried Mfe), and all theories pro or con
must vanish before his simple yes
or no"
So an opinion on that all-important
theme will perhaps be more authorita-
tive coming from a man Ga husband,
TOO, Of course,) than from a woman.
It is perhaps the only subject con-
nected with marriage on which
woman's testimony is not far more
valuable than is mere mans"
And-as a mere man"-as hus-
band-as a fether-as a person Of
average common sense q hope) and
honesty. 1 say most unhesitatingly;
Every wife should have her own
pocket money
And. / may add, If she is a good
wife, she earns her allowance, no mat
ter how large it may be. For 'the
average housekeeDer and hOmemaker
does work that comes under the head
Of skilled labor of the most skillful
kind and keeps il UP daily for q term
OF hours that would cause her expul-
% sion from any labor union under the
service and 10 pay for it merely by
food, lodging and clothes. is reminis-
cent OF the famous exchange column
item:
FOR ExcHANGE-one Cancelled 2-cent stamp.
IN perfectly good coEdition, for a DIAMOND
tiara, 24-foot catbosrd OF a corner lot
Men don't realize what an unheard-
Of good bargain a really good wife is.
For the same amount of work (not
done half as welD any paid house
keeper would expect board and lodg-
ing and at least $50 a month. Why
grudge your wife the same sum?
A girl Of my acquaintance was mar
ried a few months ago. On the re-
turn from the honeymoon she had the
ensuing little business talk with her
husband.
by the way, dear" she began, you
know I'm 10 keep the house in order,
manage the servants, plan the meals,
entertain your guests, keep your
clothes in good condition and do a few
hundred more tasks Of the same tri-
fling order. What do 1 get out of all
this?"
The surprised benedict began to
humble fond nOthings concerning a
lifelong devotion, the love of a good
man, etc. But she cut him short
For all that" she said, Il make
full return in kind. But what do 1 get
for being your housekeeper and gen.
eral supervisor
You get a good home" he retort-
ed, little nettled, and 1 will see you
have as good clothes as any woman
you know, and"
Dear" she Interrupted, several
thousand people used to work for just
those wages up to forty years ago.
Only they were called slaves. And
the country showed its disapproval
Of such payment by abolishing that
form Of slavery and declaring it ille-
gal. You couldn't get any one on
earth to-day to work for you for
board and clothes wages. Why do you
try TO force your wife to-"
Whereat. being at heart a sane
man, he began TO see light And
since then they are happy; she prov
ing to be a model housekeeper and
far more than earning the handsome
allowance he gives her.
Personally. began married life
with the allowance idea. My wife
and / have separate bank accounts.
! have no idea what sum of money
she has in bank. nor is it any affair Of
mine. MY sole affair is TO see that she
always receives her just allowance
and that she shall be spared the hu-
initiation OF having to ask me for
money that is rightly hers.
For women are not like men in this
matter of asking for money. If a
man is broke he seldom has any vast
hesitation in touching" his best
friend for the wherewithal 10 tide
over the difficulty. The flush Of
shame does not mount to his brow to
any extent as he breathes the plea:
Say, old chap, can you lend me
SO till Saturday,
But with women it is different They
hate to ask their husbands for money.
At least the best of them do. They
don't seem to realize that the hus-
bands vow, With all my worldly
goods / thee endow," makes his
money as much theirs as his. If they
could be brought to realize that, there
would be far fewer heartaches. But
tsince, apparently they cannot bring
themselves to that wise frame of
mind, I think husbands should save
them embarrassment by making
them a regular weekly or monthly al
lowance.
Let the sum be sufficient to pay for
clothes and for the countless little ex-
tras so dear TO the feminine heart.
There is no need for man to impover-
ish himself in order TO do this. A COM
mon sense talk before marriage should
little) his future wife needs for spend
ing money, clothing. etc. If he can
meet the demand he should do so. If
not let him figure out how much of his
salary he can afford TO give her as an
allowance; and If she is the right sort
OF girl she VIII usually make il suffice.