The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-09-28
THE WIPES SERVICES.


| wv AZ But aarCt"Nss
To TaR EDIIoR or THE suS-Sir' Fran.
cesca Mario. In a letter to THE suS. argues
that the services Of q wife and mother Ia
tho household are not exactly like those oi
a steward or mAjordomo. I did not say
that they were. ! said that the case OF q
| wife and mother was more like that OF a
4 ma iOrdomO than like that Of pauper. who
\ renders no valuable return TO the community
/ for his maintenance and who IL considered
unht to vote. might have made the state
msnt much stronger. Considering how
enormously the poor outnumber the rich.
Z II might be said with truth that from the
material point Of view the position OF the
average wife aud mother - that 81 an I'M
| paid domestic servant.
According 90 the census Of 1000 there
were In the United Stafe- about nine times
A. many families as there were persons
employed In domestic service Therefore
only about one family In nine could keel
a servant. even II no family KEEP; more than
one The great majority Of wives do the
housework. aud bring M children besides
For this the Law allows them during the
husbands lifetime only their maintenance
IL entities them 20 nO spending money and
gives the wife no right TO beuueath 20 her
children any part Of what SHE aud her hus.
band have Jointly accumulated II she dies
before him. often n all goes 90 a step
mother and her children
Francesca Mario says that q wife's right
to maintenance continues after she IL no
longer able to work. II she had received
tho actual cash value 20 her labor during
tho years that she Was able TO work she
would have a prov ision laid up for her old
age. This waa we'll illustrated nv n case
that happened many years ago In the neigh
borhoOd ~ Cape cod. u was told me nv
the neixhbors 81 thu people concerned.
An old farmer had died leaving no will.
His heirs were avarirtous. They Rrudged
the widow her right to the life Use OF one
Ird Of his real estate, which was what the
law a, that time gave her They hunted
ont nav In the marriage She had always
supposed that II was all right and regular.
but they proved that the farmer had i'm
posed upon her nv an illegal ceremony
She was not legally his widow. ana OF
course was not legally entitled TO any share
OF his estate.
Il vas a hard case. and the Judge adtised
the old woman To bring In bill for her ser
vices She had been doing the dead mans
housewoTk, the ordinary hard work OF a
sarmeIs wife for srss many rg yes arr
titled to have her do his housework for
nothing She made out her bill for II ac-
Cordin Rly al 80 many dollArS a week, the
ordinary rate OF wages that would have
been paid to a domestic servant The Court
allowed her claim. II toos the entire estate
nothing Of course she had been sup
ported all that time hut with the discovery
that che VAS no, ne mans wife came also
not . full equivalent for her labor
The statement that a wife IL entitled IN
work looks larger than il Is When man
hss esen ,iaRporuna ms rlI ,, ana nc family
he reaches the age whom ~ - hard for him
TO get . lob long before HE wife reaches the
age when she 10 'Insble to do ne houseWork
AFTER that as a TIle she Heeps on doing the
hoJsewors and the children support the
parents Hut sh,le they are under are the
b sbanf IN mos states has he sole disposal
Of heir wages aud the sole right To the
dalnaS~s u the en- ldren ~ killed or burt.
In Nebraska lev years ago boy, OF
father had deserted i'.e family and dissp-
pear"d long before. TIE hoy vager " ere
- mother man -apr9I' She sued ,he
that she had no ,i'In heca -. according
- the law. children are not ~ nearly related
Damages ooIId only 90 ,ilin-d hy IN. next
- Etn. Tie hoy u@NI 1t Kin MAS he
father. not his mother. - the mother got
AiloT lie Tecen, berry Mine tss',er
b-Teav-d relatives to settle their dam 4"
ll ,.l,, Tor ne Ca, pos ne amount
glc'sly. HcT I've sous. young men under
2 hAd hesn .l.ed m the mine and she
encr. The lav y"r. learned tina, the mother
had h shand living He had III used
hnt VAS not legally Ji"orced' The LAWYER
then vent to the husband end induced him
20 accept ocnpara,'N.ly small sum for
vent 10 him. although the mother proved
10 cor, That he farm shed her only the
10 sU,ander the damages upon his mis-
tTs~-s
fs, husbands u-e the eNtreme and trranni-
cal power which the lhs gives Them hut
there tho Law - all rradv for any bad hus-
band 70 take advantage Of u
ncesca Mario say- such household
s"rv, - a. w,y"s may render are from a
~ q express ne tho iaSi tSa SH The "a doe.
MOI reoosn.zn hem a. having any money
Who 80 down all div long N q rocking chair
wi'h folded arms. refusing 10 do any OF the
hous"vOrk OF 20 take any care OF the babes
~, ,4ses. however are rare he con.
human nature i much more effioient y
sri lrs Tor the children han the compul-
s'"n OF law = n forcing the husband 20 sup
por, her end them 10 thousand. Of cases
serts his wife AMI children altogether, aud
IA ihe great mA!oIiy OF such cases the
mother - ks % The ship and continues TO
am aware that IN the eye Of the Law II IL
s.-, iSes Which entiiia her 70 maintenance
but nave been trying 10 show that apart
from whatever Sentimental values there
may be IN the cas-. the great majority Of
piVcs and mot hers do render full equlva-
lcnt for all they get NJ - SeaNell'S CON
tent.on IL hat the lANs " his h have been made
10y men alone. are RlarinEly unjust Ia men
and show an outrageous and ridiculous
la oi:tism 10 somen. u this we're 20 IL
would be the first instance in history Of a
l1wmaking class that made laws which
we're. taken a. whole, decidedly unjust
to Usrlf But n ~ not .hs fact In eEcep-
I ional cases the Law does give an undue
adv aniHge 20 the woman, but in the lArg.
majority OF cases she really earns more than
she gets
This does not show any special depravtty
on the part Of men IL women alone had
made the Laws no doubt the LAWS would
have been Just az one Sided as the law.
Of ChTiEtendom we're before the woman : |
rights movement began. only II would have
been the other way round No doubt n |
would have taken n long and ard uOus man : I
2 Chts movement 20 bring about tho needed |
improvements aud even after siNty years
OF such movement may he sure that '
the women would not - far have altered |
The Old laws 80 49, TO make them glaTtngly |
unjust to women