The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-03-07
The Euening Story
Artemisia's independence.
(By Jane OSBORNE

with a funny little frown on her fair
young forehead and determined soft
of pucker on her lips. They were sit
ting in a secluded end of the veranda
of the seaside hotel, and Walter, who
was five good years older and many
inches taller than his little wife, ac-
tuaIly pinched her pink cheeks, quite
as if she had been a five-year-old
Artemisia was in no mood for sucn
pleasantries and the frown and puck
er onlv deepened.
Walter" she began, IT have some
thing important to say to you. l tried
to speak of it before, but you put me
off Now we are to start on our work
a-dav life together and 1 want you to
know my plans"
'Tickled to death, Artemisia, dear
Fire ahead"
"Of course, you know 1 am SUI
fragist."
Couldn't very we'll help it when we
had to put off being married till AFTER
the state campaign was over.
And being a consistent SuHrag1s',
of course 1 believe in the economic In
dependence of women. Every one VINO
has studied the question does Arts-
misia was hurrying in this part 81 hcr
speech for fer Walter would interrupt
her "And tomorrow, when we go
home, I am going to start the f1rst
day of our life together by being
being inde pendent 1 am going 70 get
a job and have wages and then 1 shall
never have to ask you for money ana
there will never be any of the petty
wrangling of the old-fashioned con-
ventional married life
ont of one of Mrs. Cats best
speeches. said Walter, trying TO be
facetious in spite of the surprise that
his little wife had just sprung.
please be serious" she went on. Il
knew you would understand my point
of view. All 1 am afraid of is that
some of your women relatives VINO are
still living in the middle ages and VINO
have about as high an idea of wom-
ans true sphere in life as the women
in a Turkish harem might make an
kind remarks. But, you see, simply
must do it, for in all the suffrage
speeches l made in the camnaisn one
of the points that clinched especially
well was that women absolutely need
to be independent"
THAT economic independence idea
| is all right for the women that in
vented it. professional women who
| have made a place in the world be-
( fore they were married. 1 don't
blame a woman doctor, for instance,
! or a lawyer or a really good school
teacher for not wanting to give up her
work, but you are a mere kid. You
don't know how to do a thing to earn
a living except to be some happy
mans wife,
''Then don't deserve to live at ALL"
Artemisia's cheeks were red and her
brown eyes flashed fire. II am sure
1 shall never be parasite. If I don't
know how to support myself 1 shall
learn. You know that what little
money I had left me was almost used
up in my education. What remained
/ spent on the suffrage campaign and
my trouSSeau."
What do carer" demanded Wal
ter. THANK goodness, I'm no pauper
and I've got a job besides. My rela-
tives may be living in the middle ages
and they may have the intelligence of
sultanas. but, thank goodness. they
don't look to me for support. No,
money is one of the things we shall
never have to worry about If were
poor that would be another thing.
Then I know my little wife would help
but that's just the idea that I want
you to get over. I wouldn't be help
| ing you, and when I go back to town
and get a job I won't be helping you.
I'll simply be maintaining my own &C.
ononic independence in the commun-
| ity.''
But what about the little apart
ment? Don't you like that any more %
Certainly. We intended to keep a
maid any way. Well, she can keep
house just as we'll when 1 am not
there as when 1 am. We can both give
her orders before we start out to work
in the morning."
But what are you going to do?"
| That's the question. You see, I
| thought the suffrage measure would
carry and then 1 expected to get a po-
sition in the suffrage organization.
| But as it is there will be no more paid
positions for some time. have learn
ed to typewrite, however and how to
keep files at headquarters. I shall
just get an office position somewhere
else. Others girls do. and so shall l.
Walter said no more on the subject,
though in his heart he was disap-
pointed.
1t was a month after their return
to their apartment and thirty days of
worry they had been. At last, after a
reign of four perfectly worthless
| maids, they had managed to induce a
fifth to accept the position. So far,
she seemed to be treasure. At least.
there would be no more cold dinners
and pickup breakfasts.
Artemisia had found that it was no
easy matter for an unframed, inexperi-
enced girl to get work in the busy city
and Walter, for some reason. had
given her no recommendation to his
friends. Artemisia tainted him with
this neglect, saying that it was be-
cause he. too, was of the middle ages
and was ashamed of her advanced
stand. Walter tried to explain that he
took his stand in order to make her
independence all the more complete,
so that she might lose none of the
sweetness of it's rewards in feeling that
she had gained her position through
mere mans influence.
But now for three weeks she had
hard work. To be sure, it offered only
a minimum wage, and as counter
girl in one of the large publishing
houses she stood very small chance of
advancement. Thanks to the eight
hour law. she worked only from to 6,
hut even aft that she returned home AT
night an hour after her husband. and
through sheer WEAKNESS on her part
and the impotence of the cook to
have the dinner things out of the way
she always dined in the clothes she
had worked in. The pretty house
dresses on which she had expended
the last of her small inheritance hung
..n11sad in the wa rdrntae md there wa s