The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1905-02-09
W0nGl'S EztidVagdiC5-~
On5 Woul2l'S Extravaganza

Dorothy Dix in News & Observer. Printed by
request.
The extravaganza OF women has
long been the scapegoat on which
MANY a mans failure in business Is
laid. Recently this ancient libel has
received a new impetus from the state
ment of a writer il magazine WHO
says that, according to the warden OF
the Joliet penltentiary, 81 per cent. Of
the inmates of that institution are
there because of the greed of their
wives, and that millinery bills ruined
more men than whiskey.
The testimony OF a fe!on may be
taken with some degree OF allow-
ance, but it has always seemed to come
dead easy to men Who went astray, to
lay the blame of their m's1eeds upon
women, and to shelter themselves be-
hind petticoat. Adam set the prece-
dent at the first opportunity that came
his way, and "the woman thou gavest
me, she did it," has been the manly
excuse offered thousands OF times since
by the weak and the errlng.
Whether the Joliet man was led to
make these bitter remarks about wo-
mems incompetence in tie millinery
line just after getting the bill of his
wife's hat, or in anticipation OF the
one for an Easter bonnet, no one
knows, but the idea will be as in
dignantly reputiated by men as by wo-
men. The majority Of married men
will bear willing testimony to the fact
that their wives are the more prudent
OF the two, and in many cases the
brake On the domestic machinery.
No cne Will deny that some men
have been ruined by the extravagace
of their wives, but such instances are
exceptional. Indeed, one might well
claim that a man SO weak that be
would commit forgery, or embezzle-
ment, to crafty the vanity of wo-
man has so little backb bone that he
was bound to collapse anyway. All be
wanted was chance to so wrong, ard
he was sure to frd it. And he's the
kind of man who would naturally
lay the blame on his wife.
That many women spend far more
than they can afford; that men are
hsrassed by heavy bills fer domestic
expenses end en- barrassed by overdue
accounts for millinery, is also true, but
the fault is not altogether, or mostly
because of wcmen's wllful extraya-
gance. Indeed, wlfes have no more
Just cause OR complaint against their
husbands than In not being treated
fairly and with candor about such
matters, for when husbands fail and
business enSs in disaster, 1t is the
women who suffer most. The
majority OF American husbands tell
their wives absolutely nothing OF their
business aft iirs. The woman does not
have any knowledge of what they real
ly can afford, or that they can afford
less some years than others. In many
households she seldom handles any
money. She buys On bill, which i,
paid with more or less grumbIing
which in time she becomes to believe
is a necessary part of the transaction
How. under such circumstances, is II
possible for her to haye any way tc
gauge her sxper diture, or, unless she
has a miraculous revelation, to know
anything about fnanciering?
Nothing has died more lingering
death than the theory that the femi
nine intellect is incapable of under
standing anything about business G,
money. Women do not know much, II
is true, but it is because they have hac
no opportunity to learn. 1t has beer
part of the system OF misplaced kind
ness OF fathers and husbands te
keep the women of their families il
profound ignorance OF all such mat
tiers, and the result has been when wo
men did come into any money the,
were the victims of the relative q
guardian who handled it for them
The prosperity OF the french nation i.
built up largely on the fact that The
wife Of the bourgeoise is his business
partner. Our domestic system has nc
greater weakness than the fact tha,
the American woman Is profoundly
ignorant of her husbands business at
fiirs, and has no part in their man
agement. The American woman comes
OF a race Of shrewd business men, arc
it Is absurd to say she cannot under
stand a simple business proposition
Let her husband explain why they Ger
afford only so much for living ex
panses, and nine times out OF ten, yes
ninety-niue out Ct a hundred, the wife
will willingly acquieece in the arrange
ment. In most cases her love for him
will prompt her to save him the wor
ry Of bills he cannot meet. IT it doe
not her good sense and conservatism
will teach her that disaster and ruiz
can only be averted by prudence. Tt,
man who makes a confidant of h