The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-02
Independence

nonic independence In marriage! The question
cannot be answered compendiously Of course. with
out historic review of the family as an economic
institution and, particularly. of the chattel
theory of woman held in past periods Of our cu-
ture. But let us assume that part Of the answer
made-the facts have been much ventilated in
recent years-and let consider the end of the
dealing with latter day facts. Let us start
after the passage of the married women's property
acts in England and their statutory equivalents IN
this country after the formal surrender of the the
DRY of the femme covert, Of English common law.
and let us ask why forms OF conjugal economic de-
pendencc have still been sincerely cherished and
so holly defended Why did the sporadic pin
money" system of our grandparents yield so slowly
to the monthly allowance and separate chcckbook
system Of parents? Why in our day has the
compensation for housekeeping system failed to
rout the allowance system? And why, in years to
come, will the compensation system hold it's own
against some analogous new fiction of economic
independence some fresh compromise for actual in
dependence?
Pin money, allowance, compcnsaton-all are mere
pretcnses of independence Whatever their dis
guises. emotional Observation-Disclosures in the
of pin money and allowance ratonalstic in
the case of Observation-Disclosures their DISCUSSES
these systems belong to the old proprietary theory
of marriage Pin money or allowance is merely the.
equivalent in system for the jewels or fine
garments Manu-. the Hindu code maker, counsels
all considerate husbands to bcstow upon their
wives. their unquestionable possessions. AS for
compensation. system of paying according to the
income of the employer, Professor Montague has
pointed out and with mobility for the employe,
can hardly be accounted part Of any free system
of employment.
But wives insist upon it well as husbands. The
man who does not want his wife to work for a
| living is matched by Gf not always WITH the wom-
an who does not want to go out to work The
woman who feels she has enough TO do at home
composes the bulk Of every economic class of wom-
| en-, from the who expects her husband to
bring her his weekly pay envelope unopened to the
woman who expects her husband to pay whatever
| monthly bills she has run up. This average woman,
the housewife by choice feels that the only saisfac
| ton open her will power lies in controlling
attempting to control the household finances
| through them, in part at least her husband. Her
| sense of achievement finds varied expression. 1t
may express itself in being thrifty in making ends
meet; in getting her his moneys worth or in
| being extravagant; in running up bills: in unre-
strained shopping; in the sense of being luxurousy
kept In endless instances, we know, the average
woman fails to achieve this household and wifcly
| control. Sometimes she submits, PROSTATE dis
satisfied woman sometimes she rebels, separates
divorces, tries it again. But usually her re-
| beon is against person. the man who has failed
| her, not against the system, her own system. The
| only proof of change Of heart she may have to
| offer, to be sure is rejection of alimony But
how many POOR Divorces with no other provider in
prospect decline amony?
AS far as a change of heart in the average house
wife is concerned it is quite idle for the propogan
dist of economic Independence in marriage to preach
it to her. She, likely as not even more than her
| husband, wants household and conjugal control
| through the purse She knows that her nominal de-
pendcnce is really a form of control-if she puts it
| across And for the satisfaction of her desire to
| control she other opportunity Until she
sees other opportunity she will keep the one
| she has. And why not?
| Had she been differently Observation-Disclosures to a
profession. to we'll paid trade, to business or to
clerical administrative work-and We're there the
same chances in her community for economic or
professional remuneration and advancement FOR
women for men, then. indeed, the average mar
red man, look to other than domestic forms of sat
sfyng the desire to control. In short, for women
economic independence in marriage is psychologist
ally well practically question inscparabc
from the education of girls and the position of
women in the professions, in business, in admins
tration and in industry.
Practically economic independence in marriage is
also inseparablc from the situations presented by
, maternity Until recently, even theoretically ma
tcrnty entered of necessity into every question of
conjugality knowledge of conraception has rem
dercd child bearing and sexual relations theoretic-
ally disnguishabc The growing will to spread
that knowledge to all classes will make the distnc-
ton in practice likewise possible. Much about
, marriage will continue to be complicated. however
obviously enough, by the presence of children and
not least the matter OF economic independence.
1T is for the younger women that freedom Of
choice II conjugal economy is dcsra blefrccdon
to choose according to their character, their capac-
tiles their interests. Have W" not all known girls
fand men, tooN who forcwcnt marriage because it
mcaat to them giving up work the special work
they liked, or because it meant. thanks to it's
4 sY'nic ,ntanglcmcnts they held, destruction OF
tYosc elements in the personal relationship the,
most valued? This attitude engcndcrs sexual an
u tagonism: is hurtful to those who hold it, it is
n hurtful tC their community 1t very important
~ indeed, for girls to feel able, if WISH to kcor
their sexual relations free from economic determine
ton. We recognize this fact discussing pros
l. ttuion marrying for money" but curiousl,