The Jersey City news., 1903-01-23


The question of young girls finances
has always been a great puzzle to pa
rents. The ordinary slp-shod method of
buying what clothing she requires from
the general fund and an occasional gift
OF money for pleasure purposes prevails
10 the great majority of homes This is
generally accompanied by a constant
teasing and coa4ing for little. luxuries Of
dress and spending money" that. when
the parents are ordinarily indulgent,
makes itself very yisibly felt in the
pocketbook, but has bad effect on the
girl herself. There is nothing so degrad-
ing to self-respect in girl as the neces-
sity to ask for every cent she needs, and.
as is often the case to be obliged TO ask
several times before she can get what she
wants. A teasing daughter almost in
yariably makes pagging wife, says
Medical Talk
The custom of some parents of making
an allowance to their daughters of SO
called spending money has often quite
as bad an effect in different way. 1t is
generally spent entirely for unnecessary
things, merely because it is money that
they can use as they please. To buy
anything useful with it would seem Il
ridiculous waste of time, because any
thing they need is bought for them in
any event.
There are many parents undoubtedly
who have tried the plan of a weekly or
monthly allowance which is to cover all
expenses, that have failed because they
have net strictly adhered to the amount.
This is especially true of monthly al
lowance. To a young girl with no pre-
vious experience in buying. who knows
nothing of the value of money, any sum
so given will almost invariably be spent
before the FIRST week is gone. and before
the end of the month there viii be things
she needs so badly that her mother will
reIent so far as to advance a few dol
lars, or make her present of what shte
needs. OF course this laxity of discips
line must result in confusion and extraya
gance.
The allowance plan. to be successful,
should be absolutely fixed and inyiolable,
and should preferably be given weekly.
Under no circumstances should the next
weeks allowance be encroached upon nor
debt contracted. If the girl makes
bad bargain it must be held to, and viii
prove useful lesson in the future. This,
of course, is generally the first difficulty
to be overcome. There will be bad bar
gains galore at first, for the girl should
be given all reasonable latitude in the
selection of her purchases. 1t is only in
that way that she will learn TO be inde-
pendent and TO judge for herself. There
are many women who never acquire the
ability to make a satisfactory purchase
alone. They must have some one to ad-
vise with and talk it over to before
they can be content. | suppose there are
some girls who can never become abso-
2utely self-reliant who are naturally de-
pendent. But the great majority can
readily be trained if they are started
correctly. :
The amount of the allowance depends,
of course. on the paternal poeketbook in
large measure, and also on the needs of
the girl herself. The girl who is going
to public school. whose parents, are in
moderate circumstances, whose social re-
quirements are light, and whose mother
is her dressmaker of course, does not
need the allowance of one who perhaps
attends private academy. belongs to
dancing club and employs fashionable
dressmaker. But to both, and to the
many intermediate grades, a knowledge
of the handling of money is essential to
a well-roundeA character
started in at the age of fourteen with an
allowance of 81 a week each. This
amount paid for their clothing and an oe-
casional luxury in the way of matinee
ticket or box Of candy. They seldom
went to parties, merely requiring the sim
pie essentials of school girl, and their
mother made their dresses. The sbest
1ress' of one year was made over into
an everyday one next year. Wraps
lasted several seasons and hats were al
ways reconstructed. Underwear was Of
the simplest, most durable character.
Shoes were half soled and invisibiy
patched many times.
AZ the commencement Of their allow
anee naturally some follies and extraya-
gances were committed. Many bitter
tears were sned because of the infiexible
rule that no debt could be contracted, no
advance allowed Because of the folly
Of some extravangance one year an Eas-
ter hat was impossible, and all the other
girls in the Sunday school class had one.
How exceedingly bitter are the tragedies
Of Childhood
II
One year the allowance was raised fff-
ty cents a week. ! wonder when, half
dollar ever looked as big before. Gradr- !.
ally the allowance was raised, as the
What Shall We