The daily Alaskan., 1913-11-21
The Better Man
 By M. QUAD Copyright, 1913, by Associated Lit-
 erary Press.
By M QUAD

! CT < daughter d0COD AuSVLIi lHlA'S' 9 son removed to town and opened what he proudly termed a commission house. It was in this way. It was an old building at the railroad depot and Jacob bought butter and eggs of the farmers for price and shipped them to the city and sold them for a higher one. He made as much as 4 cents a | dozen on eggs and cents a pound on butter. Jacob Anson had always said l that he wanted to be a business man when he grew up, and here he was. | He had a place. and he had a sign and l letterheads and cards He did $4 worth of advertising in the country papers, | and tue whole town congratulated him on his business enterprise Jacob had | always patted himself on the back as some pumpkins, and now he became very chesty. One day when he had shipnpd enough butter and eggs to re turn him a profit of $G he went home with his head held so high that it was | two minutes before he saw his wife.
 "I am glad business is so good she 1 said. but there are other things need. ed in the city besides butter and eggs You have the room to store them and the time to handle them, and why not add potatoes. beans, tuTnips and other thiugST
 This thing was my idea in the first place. wasn't it?" he half demanded in voice not at all pleasant
 "Of course"
 Well. I believe l have the gump- ton to carry it through to success without advice from anybody" "But it was a suggestion. Jacob.'
 "Yes, l get lots of them and would make failure in a week if needed them. Leave business to men, Mary"
 That is to say that the women have no brainsT"
 There isn't one in a hundred that cam take care of herself when she be- comes a widow"
 There was no further talk of busi- ness between husband wife, but in her earuuslucss of belief the wife did rather foolish thing that caused some neigubor now and then to say:
 Jake. that wife of yours has some smart ideas"
 "Oh. dunno"
 ''She was telling my wife-the other day that you could handle more stuff just as well as not and thus increase your income"
 And do you think so yourself?'
 "Why. I've thought it over and feel sure you could"
 And Jacob went home to dinner to say to is wife:
 So you are still determined to med de with my business, are your
 "I have said to two or three women that I thought you could increase It."
 Should there be separation you would probably go into the commis. sion business .yourselfE'
 "l might"
 And show me how to make a small fortune"
 That might come too."
 Foolish talk, of course, but every day Reno produces something just as fool tSh. It was a bone that was gnawed at until separation finally came.
 Ten days after Mrs. Ausou went home to her mother Dame Fortune Smiled on her A relative died and left her $2, ,OOO Her husband said to every body that he was glad of her luck and at the same time sorry for the like1i- hood that sue would lose every dollar Of it in some wildcat investment
 "GOt ideas and no experience, you know" be added in a patronizIng way.
 Before tue wife had decided just what she would do it was the talk of the town that 1t would be something foolish. whatever it was. One day she went to the city, and all the knowing ones whispered, ''Millncry"
 Mrs Anson didn't go to the shop ping districts nor enter any of the wholesale houses on Broadway. On the contrary, a carriage took her to the produce commission district, and she made many inquiries and transacted considerable business. Her husband had never even seen the merchant he shipped to. and few inquiries proved that he had a poor standing as to char acter and amount of business done.
 Not d word of explanation when Mrs. Ausou arrived home. The villagers bad selected the store she would rent for ter stock, but she passed it by. Opposite her husbands place of busi- ness was an empty building much lar ger than his quarters. When the vil- . lugers came to know that it had been taken on a five years lease they al- most shouted ont:
 "lS Mrs. AnsOn crazy? What a To- cation for d millinery storew
 While the building was being put in shape Mrs. AnsOn drove about the country for a distance of six or seven miles in every direction and had talk with farmers and their wives. She gave them information that astOnished them. She signed contracts with many of them that made them see lots of money ahead.
 She is drumming up trade for her millinery store" was the general yer dict. and some went so far as to say