The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-29

The extravaganza of women mas
long been the scrapegoat on "hlch
many a mans failure in business is
laid. Recently this ancient libel has
received q new impetus from the state
mcnt Of a writer in Il magazine who
saws that, according to the warden of
the Joliet penitentiary, 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 felon may be
taken with some degrees of allow
ance. but it has always seemed to come
dead easy TO men who Went aStray. 10
lay the blame of their misdeeds upon
women and to. shelter themselves be-
hind a 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
ecxusc offered thousands of times since
by the weak and the erring.
Whether the Joliet man was led 10
make these bitter remarks about wo-
mems intemperance in the 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 repudiated by men as by wo-
men. The majority of married men
will bear willing testimony to the tact
that their wives are the more prudent
of the two, and in many cases the
brake on the domestic machinery.
No one will deny that some men
have been ruined by the extravaganza
of their wives, but such instances are
exceptional Indeed. one might well
claim that a man so weak that ne
would commit forgery. or embezzla-
mcnt. TO crafty the vanity of a wo-
was bound to collapse anyway. All he
wanted was a chance to go wrong. ana
he was sure to find 1t. And he's the
kind of man who would naturally
Law the bla me on his wife.
That many women spend far more
than they can afford: that men are
harassed by heavy bills for domestic
expenses and embarrassed by overdue
accounts for millinery, is also true. but
the fault is not altogether. or mostly,
because of women'S Wilful eXtrava-
gance Indeed. wives have no mors
lust cause of complaint against their
husbands than in not being treated
fairly and with candor about Such
matters for when husbands fail and
business ends in disaster. il is the wo-
men who suffer most. The majority of
women of American husbands ten
their wives absolutely nothing of thell
business affairs. The woman does not
have any knowledge of what they real
" can afford or that they can afford
less some years than others. In many
households she seldom handles any
money. She buys on a bill. which Is
paid with more or less grumbling,
which in time she comes 10 believe
is a necessary part of the transaction.
How under such circumstances, is II
possible for her to have any way 10
gauge her expenditure, or. unless snc
mas a miraculous revelation. to know
ANYTHING about financiering?
Nothing has died a more lingering
death than the theory that The femi-
nine intellect is incapable of under
standing anything about business or
money. Women do not know much, II
is true but Il is because they have had
no opportunity to learn. il has been
part of the system of MISPLACED kind
ness of Gathers and husbands 10
keep the women of their fan2iIles IN
profound ignorance of all such mat
fers. and the result naS been when wo-
men did come into any money they
were the victims OF the relative or
guardian who handled il Tor them.
IThc prosperity OF the French nation Is
built UP largely on the fact that tht
Wife of the bourgcoise is his business
partner. our domestic system has no
greater weakness than the fact that
M
ignorant of her husband business af-
fairs, and has no part in their man"
a&elnent The American ISCE.an comes
OF Il race of shrcWd business men, ana
| it is absurd to say she ':afnot ui1er-
stand a simple business proposition
Let her husband explain why they can
afford only SO much for living cX-
lpenses. and nine times out of ten, yes.
Injnety-nine out of hundred. the wife
will willingly acQuiesce in the arrange
ment. In most eases her love for him
will prompt her to save him the wor-
nv of bills he cannot meet. If it does,
not her rood sense and conservatism
| will teach her that disaster and ruin
can only be averted by prudence. The
man who makes a confidant of his
wife, and in whose affairs she is tho
consulted silent partner, is not the
man who is ruined by millinery bills.
or one OF those who goes to the peni-
Tertiary on account of Il woman 8 le2A-
ItraYagancc.
somehow VIC seem to have IL sort OF
false delicacy in talking about money.
| The Young man who is in love with "a
girl and wants to marry her, seldom
| has the honesty to tell her just what
she will have to adopt if she cAsrs hel
Hot with him on the contrary. ne
speaks in Slittering generates. lie
| is SO anxious TO appear we'll iE her
eyes that he often spends IL" more
| Than he can afford. In their c"lrtjne
| DAYS he lavishes sweets. and candy
l. and books. and theater tickets Oh her
and she naturally argues from lhtse
| that they are to live in kind of fan
i