The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1917-12-26
Women Wouldn't Have SuS-
plclons Of What Hubby Does
Downtown, and Child rem
Would Obey Parents Bet
ter, She Says,
BY DOROTHY DIX,
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman

y
blamelcss life, is discovered by her
husband or sweetheart reading letter
The man asks her who the writer is, In
stead OF answering the woman thrusts
the letter in her bosom and refuses TO
tell. Thereupon there ensueS four acts
OF suspicion. Jealousy, general heart
break, tears and woe, until at last,
chance brings about the revelation that
the letter was from the heroines
grandmother and contained nothing but
grandma's recipe for making spiced
picked peaches.
ID OF course in the theater we can un-
derstand why the heroine didn't explain
Ut once the innocuous character Of the
scrap OF paper. Ii would have ended
the play Immediately. There wouldn't
have been any chance for injustice, re-
erip,inatoin, sob stuff and big scenes
We smile at such twaddle when we
think OF il seriously, and yet such plays
are built on one OF the fundamental pc
culiarfties OF human nature that. often
enough, bring about real tragedies in
real life %a
Rather BE Misunderstood.
And that is the deep-rooted aversion
that most OF us have to explaining
things. We would rather be misunder-
stood, misjudged, suspected OF any
crime under the sun than to say the two
or three words that explain why we do
q thing We prefer breaking the hearts
OF our family, alternating their atieor
TOMS and losing Our friends to giving
them some perfectly simple and ade-
quate reason that would justify the
course OF action we pursue
Queer, isn't it1 But true As silly
as the act of the woman 10 the melo-
drama, but isn't II what we all do.
It's the lack OF explanation that is
responsible for half OF the friction in
domestic life. The average man would
rather di. by slow torture than tell his
wife Banyhing about his busipess al
fairs, and because his wife hasn't got
any facts to 60 upon in picturing how
he spends the hours that he is away
from her, she gives her imagination full
scope TO conjure up scenes of revelry
with pulchritudinous ladies that ne
meets in business, and she is filled with
torments OF jealousy that she takes out
on him at home.
Husband Should Explain.
Women are not such fools as they
often appear to be, and there are very
few wives who wouldn't understand
and appreciate the exigencies ,f busi-
ness that keep man down town now
land then OF evenings, or that make 1t
polite for him TO entertain business as
soeiates at restaurants and theaters, IL
only the husband would take the trou-
BILE TO explain just the situation that
neeessitated his doing so o.
HUT when husband stays away from
~ his own hearthstone and gives no
reason for doing il but cryptic mur-
mur OF business" il is no wonder that
the wife is filled with suspicion OF she
knows not what.
Men are always complaining that
their wives are extravagant, yet there
isn't one woman In a hundred who
couldn't be cured Of wastefulness by
little cxpanatoin from her husband OF
why she should cut down expenses. A
man grumbles about the bills until his
wife comes TO think II is constitu
toinal ailment that he can't help. She
has never been told anything about the
state OF his business, so she goes along
spending money because she has been
given no especial incentive to save
II Would Be Clearer.
Far otherwise would it he with her
IL her husband would explain to her
that the reason he asked her to ecoho
nire was because he had note com
ing due that must be paid or that he
was trying to save up enough to buy
an interest in the business, or start
little store for himself
II would be money in the pockets Of
husbands to explain their busineSS prob
lens to their wives, because once you
give woman difinite object and
good reason for saving she can hang on
TO a nickel until she mskes the buffalo
how with agony,
Same with Children.
Most Of the trouble parents have in
getting obedience from their children
is due TO the high .and-miphty way in
which they issue tyrannical commands
10 the young ones without condesceud-
ing TO explain why Nsuch and such
thing should be done, The children re-
sent this, as we all instinctively resent
arbitrary authority and they resist il
wherever II is possible, but they would
he perfectly amenable TO guidance II
reasonable explanation Of any course Of
conduct was given them
ISSUE an abrupt order TO little John
mic that he must not do so-and-so
and he will disobey YOU II he dares,
or circumvent YOU il he has The wit, hut
sit down and explain thoroughly TO him
why il is .wisest and best for him to
follow the plan you suggest and ninety
nine times out OF hundred he falls in
with your wishes
You can never take the sting out OF
disappointment to child BY explaining
10 him Just why he canuot do the thing
I've wants to do or have the thing YOU
him, but merely to tell him curtly tina,
you've changed your mind about permit
ting him 10 do something he had set
hts heart on doing or that he cant have
thing he had set his hear, doing Or that
he cant have the thing he had been
dreaming OF possessing simply adds
insul, to injury and in,ensiiies the Bit
tcrneS OF his loss Moreover, Il makes
him regard You as a tyrant, a liar and
breaker Of promises, whereas little
explanation would clear mp the whole
attsss tio,, .,d Ieave the child gvtunathiy-