The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1909-07-27
SAVED FROM
BANKRUPTCY
By EsTELLE cLAIRMoNT.

OF both husband and wife ana nad TO
be greeted. OF course she promenad-
ed through the five rooms and praised
nothing, but neither did she condemn
until the bride pointed to a vacant
space in the parlor and observed that
it was reserved for the piano when
they could afford one.
Then the spinster sat down as stim
as a poker with her hands in her Jap
and replied:
'Well, / expected it."
Expected whatY
"That you would bankrupt your hus-
band inside of a year by your ex-
travagance. You'll coax him into get
ting piano, and then will come fur
coat and opera tickets and rides in a
hired auto, and If you tease hard
enough he may even buy an auto on
the instaIlment plan. saw the other
day that the business failures in the
country last month were 478, or Is
more than for the same month last
year. The men are not to blame for 1t,
but have been driven into bankruptcy
by their wives"
"But we may not get piano for two
years." protested the wife, land walk
to save street car fare"
"But what are you doing to assist
your husbandY'
"Why, Pm keeping house"
eyes, and having nothing to do half
the time but read novels. If was a
wife, situated as you are, I'd be earn
ing and saving against the crash"
'Ts there crash coming?"
Certainly, and it's going to be in the
gents furnishing goods too. l meant
to bring along the article l saw In
the paper yesterday, but left home In
a great hurry. Edith, do you imagine
that men are always going to wear
shirts and collars and cuffs? Has it
never occurred to you that the time
will come when they will make one
suspender do In place of two or wear
none at all? Are they going to keep
on choking themselves with neckt1esr
Are they going to continue to wear
socks when all writers on hygiene de-
clare that wearing none at all is the
way to avoid colds, catarrh and con-
sumption? tell you that great
change is coming, and you should pre-
pare for it. Any day your husband
may come in and tell you that he is a
bankrupt"
"Why, how can men get along with
out shirts and thingsT' asked Edith as
she turned pale.
"By returning to the simple life.
Adam had no use for those things.
You may yet see millionaires walking
the street, by advice of their doctors,
with only bedquilt wrapped around
them"
"And If my husband goes to smash
in his business, then-then''-
'AThen suppose you had the money In
the house to start him in delicates-
sen store? There is business that Is
not in danger. There are no fashions
to menace it. There are no doctors
holding out warnings. You simply go
In and get potato salad and sausage
and come out again. If you are the
owner of the store you make 30 per
cent profit Arthur can slice the roast
beef and such, while you make the sal
ads. If were in your place would
not let another day pass without try
ing to get something to do to save up
money for the crash coming, but /
wouldn't say a word to Arthur to dis
courage him and so bring it all the
sooner"
Having said her say and been as
mean about it as she could, the old
maid departed and left the young wife
in tears. Something to do7 Why, yes.
She had always been asked why she
didn't develop her talent for painting.
She would begin little picture thai
very day. She would paint one every
day until she had six on hand and
then send them to different art stores
Each one would probably be accepted
and paid for on sight. She might
start her savings account with 5000.
The young wife dried her tears,
brushed her hair and within an hour
had begun picture No. l. Nothing was
said about bankruptcy when her hus-
band came home She did not even
mention that the old maid had called.
Once upon time, before her mar
rage, the wife had had occasion to
send off a telegram, and friend had
told her that If it was marked rush
1t would be sent and answered in half
the usual time She remembered this
when her pictures were ready to send
off. On the wrapper of each she wrote
a '.rush' IN red ink and then waited
with bated breath for the checks to
come in The art stores obey the in
Junction. They rushed the pictures
back with q feeling that life and death
depended on their haste.
Her artistic career was a failure
and Mrs. Lee had the sense even in
her bereavement to recognize the fact
There must be other things at which
money could be made, however, and
she consulted five or six hundred ad-
vertisements and finally found one
where persons were wanted to address
envelopes at home for liberal pay.
That was just the thing. By the time
she had addressed thirty or forty mil
IONS that delicatessen store would be
Il sure thing in case of the failure OF
the other.
she applied at certain street and
number. So did about hundred girls,
fifty old women and number of
boys. The man in the office called
her ''my DEAR and gave her thou
sand envelopes to take home that he
might see what sort of a hand she
wrote. He also exacted deposit OF
30 cents for their return. He also
took her for young widow and re-
marked on his gladness to see her
striving to make an honest living in
stead of attending champagne suppers
at sporty restaurants.
1t took the ambitious young wife the
best part of two days to address the
thousand envelopes, and when she
carried them back the man smiled at
her in a brotherly way and handed
over 20 cents and said:
my dear you have only to keep on
and you will wear diamonds"
But the striving wife didn't keep on.
She was so discouraged and indignant
that she left the place without de-
handing her deposit Something else
must be found. She saw the simple
life galloping down on her and shirt
less, coIarless and sockless men pass
ing gents furnishing stores with looks
of contempt
That something else was an ad. A
bright young woman could make from
Sc to So a day by calling at such
a4raa+ and number. Nobody would