El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-07
Home Circle Lies Are Many
Husband and Wife Seldom Tell Other
the Whole Truth More Than
Once as an Experiment.
Rr norOfhK DIX. -

OF long ago a wealthy western
n woman was heavily fined by the
4 customs authorities for falsify-
ing her statement about the value OF
dress she had bought in Paris Upon
investigation the collector announced
that he was convinced that the reason
the woman made false report of what
she desired to defraud the government,
but because she was afraid to tell her
husband the truth about what the gar
ment had cost
One Mans Foolish Story.
About the same time a man in
Yonkers appeared at home early one
morning with a black eye and the
most frightful tale of how he had been
dered, and left for dead by the way
side, and of how he had craWled homo
as soon as he recovered consciousness.
The police Immediately began search
for the fOOtpads, and as they began to
get warm" as the children say in
playing hide and seek, the man con-
fessed that there had been no assault
made upon him, but that he had tarried
downtown too long and looked too Of
ten upon the beer as it foameth. and
had fallen against a fence in trying
to find his own dOmicile, and that he
had cOncOcted his cute little lie about
the assassins because he was afraid to
60 home and tell his wife the unvar-
nished truth.
Fear Of Each Other Makes Liars.
Thus do We see how fear of the
partners of our bosoms makes liars OF
US all
Probably there is no other place on
earth where strict veracity is at as
much Of a discount as IT IS in the FAM
lily circle, where universal experiences
proves that however admirable it may
De as theory, it is boomerang in
practice
Now. most married people, while
recognizing the impossibility of MAIN
tanning the character of Truthful James
and VeraciOus Sally, and still keeping
up friendly relations, have regretted
this necessity. More: They have been
troubled in their consciences about the
matter, for they were not by nature
liars and would gladly have dalIied
with the truth if they could.
Judge Justifies Little Lie.
To these unhappy tarradiddlers there
is balm in Gilead by the decision that
has just been handed down by judge
Geo. L. Phillips. of Cleveland. O., who
gives it as his judicial opinion that when
a little lie will preserve the domestic
calm, the husband should tell it bravely
and well, and in a manner to carry con-
viction-
Judge Phillips says: a little diplo-
macy. and there would have been no
trouble in this family. A wife objects
TO husband attending lodge meetings.
Why tell her about it, What she
doesn't know won't hurt her"
Assuredly not And it's perfectly
NOuUEElul now many dSlule lldIEIcu
people, with a proper respect for their
own peace and comfort, have antici-
pated judge Phillips's decision, and
instead of telling their respective hus-
bands and wives the truth that would
raise row have told the little lie that
insured the dove of peace still -roOsting
on the roof pole
Lies Generally are Demanded.
The truth is, we are all afraid of our
husbands and wives. and fear breeds
liars A woman makes her husband lie
to her because she won't stand for the
truth A man puts a premium on his
wife deceivinS him because he won't
stand for the truth from her. and so
il goes. and the biggest whOpper that
any man or woman ever tells is when
they say to the partners OF their
bOsoms: T ALWAYS tell you the truth
about everything"
OF course. it's better to fib than to
be divorced. but most people have felt
that the domestic lie was a degrada-
ton. and these will be cheered and
cOmforted by judge Phillips's decision
that such lies are not only admissible
but a cOnjugal duty