Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-02-21

In the pioneer p.riod OF our existence
one Of the most serious charges that
could be brought against "A woman was
thai OF keeping hcr husbands nose to
the grtndstone." In those days of
small means the homeiy phrase scarce
ly implied extravaganza. simply poor
management which. kept the husband
from getting ahead" from putting
by something for a rainy day" from
providing for a comfortable old age
and u decent burial" Today the old
fashioned phrase Is fast becoming oh
sOlete. notably in circles where the
grindstone itself il still III use and still
in evidence. In spite Of the efforts TO
keep 1t locked up In the closet with
the family skeleton.
One who looks at life with half an
eye cannot fail to See that the grind
stoEe torture In a sad diaturber OF the
family peace. n not u serious menace to
sDcial we'll being. I do not refer now
to those extreme cases In which the suf-
fererS are driven to- tragic ends chron-
icled in the daily papers under sensa-
tiOnal headlines Of suicide. embezzle-
inent, or divorce, but only to familiar
Instances in which the victims are bear
Ing their blueSeoniug without wincing
or crying aloud. In the ranks Of these
every day heroes. who. like charity.
suffer long and are kind. and that with
out the hope OF even "A Carnegie medal.
are found representatives Of all classes
and conditions. proving clearly that the
'torture" IS not the inevitable cut
growth of any particular set Of cir
c~umstanceS.
Too Good to Be Sensible.
one must admit at the outset that
the American husband often puts his
own nose to the grindstoiIe through a
b,indly misplaced generosity. We have
no marriage settlements. yet the
American brid-groom's version OF with
all my worldly goods ] thee endow" lis
-aften-.Dearest. you may have all my
sAiary." Here III New York seven IN
stances lave recently been brought to
my notice IN which the husband hands
over to his wife his entire stipulated
frconle. All average salary of 5000 ii
year. In three of these Eases the wives
allow their respective husbands enough
FOR u new suit OF clothes each year and
for car fare and d ,5o luncheon each
day. Clothing III excess Of ore suit
per year and amy e~i"a expenses in
CURED must b. paid for by extra money
made. All three meet these demands
by night work. one of them
in addition. to carry $500" worth of
life insurance. In a sixth case. the
husband must not only ind" all his
clothes. his ca. fare. and iuncheons. u
tho whcrewitiial 10 pay various
rundry bills that exceed his wife's al
1owance." In 70 one Of these cases
does the wife save Il penny for any
emergency whatsoever. In two famil-
ies there is a child zach to be provided
for. IN four tn wife alone is con
sidered.
Now. In Il seventh rass the wife. after
providing for herself. tw" children. and
her household. PLACES TO her husbands
bank eccOr MT enough TO pay for all his
clothing. carfare. luncheons. club dues,
ard payment on $1,000 life Insurance.
Man number seven also works at night
when he feels disposed. Az "bSprod-
ucts" no has published ,wo successful
meyer UGH That sum. the wife will
proudly tell you. Is Invested FOR "a
home OF our own by and by and for "a
cOileg. education for the children"
This last case. you may say. is not a
griudstone case. 1t is cited here 10
ahow that the abuse OF generosity in
the other cases is not unavoidable.
when six women tell you with tears.
II can't live on my allowance" not
knowing the amount of the allowance
and conscious only VI the tears. YOU
are very apt To jump TO the conclusion
that there are six stingy. brutal hus-
bands numbering the earth. If tn.
seventh woma did not step in to tell
how gladly and proudly she has
planned-"skimre! and 81 =, d the 9th
ers call ito live on n like ALLOW
ance.' you might imagine shat ii is
impossible to live IN New York on
$4,000 a year. The seventh woman.
moreover. is the happ!est one of the
lot: her apartment bears the marks
OF greater taste and Refinement than
one finds in the homes of the others:
one meets at her a more people of
worth and distinction.
Chained TO the Money Mill.
Mans most poignant suffering from
the grindstone torture does not come
from the extra work involved, nor
from the haunting fear OF AN emer-
eency for which liz Is wholly UMPIRE
pared. but rather from the feeling that
he has done his best and his bes, is
not enough. that he has coined his
heart for gold and his wife merely asks
for more gold. What the seventh man
has found, the other six all dreamed
OF finding. In his halcyon counting
days. not one OF them ever dreamed
that the dear girl he loved carried Il
some person. 1919 not trying to prov.
that the ratio OF selfish to unselfsf
women in the w-rld IL as six to one
I am merely stating six authentic in.
stances Of misplaced confidence AND
generosity that keep good mems nose,
to the grindstone.
The story Of the seven who loved
equally we'll. II not equally wisely. Is
the story OF New York. where condi-
lions of living on a moderate income are
admitted to be harder thai anywhere
else In our country. The following story
COMES from a city of the middle west.
A man who was generally known as
the commonplace husband of a bril-
liant and charming wife. confessed Ia
an old college chum. whom he a not
seen since the days when they had
shared The same room and the sans
ideals: Il have become a mere ma
chine for turning out 5000 a year
That is the price Of my wife's happi-