The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-08-05
EVENING CHAT
BY RUTH CAMERON.

.'Why, I'm ever so much more care
full of my clothes since I earned my
own money. make tlt-m last just
about twice as long,
so a young woman who has had her
first experience in wage earning this
past winter commented on one effect
of that experience.
She is the daughter of people of very
mod crate means. She never in all her
life has had a fxed allowance. Her
father said he could not afford to give
her one. Instead he has given her
money whenever she asked for It, II
he could.
Now this girl has always been ex-
tremelv careless about her clothes.
Her gowns have a way of getting torn
and soiled in half the time one would
expect and her hats become dilapldat-
ed and her shoes scratched and ola
| looking in few weeks. She SAID she
lust couldn't help it. that she was I'M
lucky. l always wondered if her faith
er had not handed her over the money
to buy new things to repiace the pre-
maturely destroyed ones, if she would
have been quite so tunlucky.
And now the question is answered.
She has bought her own clothes for
q YEAR. She has had definite sum to
buy them with, not vague, indefinite
/ haphazard supply which the plea OF a
torn gown or ruined hat would prob
ably make elastic.
1t has been a case OF learn to be
careful or do without. And she has
learned TO be more careful.
Which is a lesson she would have
learned years and years ago if her
father had given her fixed and abso-
Ilutely inelastic allowance
1 OF course. even then, she would not
have had quite as much respect for the
/ e -. n.
but she would have found out what II
could and could not do, and would
have proceeded to help IT do its best
by taking due care of her clothes
He said he couldn't afford to give
her an allowance. because he was a
moor man AS a matter of fact he
couldn't afford not to give her one Tor
Just that reason.
It is often the child of poorer par
ents who has absolutely &c conception
of the value of money ecause sne
never has the handling Of any; while
the Weather girl who has a definite
allowance learns thrift End economy.
| 7 believe that just as soon as child
realizes that pennies have other uses
| besides being put in his mouth OF
rolled across the floor, h" should have
an allowance.
| At first this would be orly a very lit
tie for spending money. but as the
child grows older I think that more
and more of the money spent upon
him should be put into his own hands
until the boy or girl OF fourteen OF
| fifteen is given an allowance that Gov
ers all his personal needs. Mother oil
father would supervise the spending
of course That goes without saying
Too many mothers and fathers have
an idea that an allowance is an extr a
| something that only wealthy people
can afford to give their children.
/ The sooner they get rid of this no
ton and realize that with en- allowance
of no more money than they have
4 previously had in driblet sums, if as
much, their children can buy thrift and
economy as well as clothes and pleas
ures. the better for those children.
SHOULD a woman tell the man she is
about TO marry her past If it contains
something she is ashamed Off"
A few weeks ago I passed on to he
public that query which poor little
motherless girl had put to me.
Here are some OF the interesting an
swers that it brought.
| I trust they will help both the little
Girl xS-l,o aslxed for helm and anV 1T hers