The Washington times., 1919-02-15
Put ThyHOuse
in Order
BY Loretto @. Lynch.

neighborhood. Everyone sympa-
= thia@i with the widow. but law
Is law-sometimes: ana she made.
pathetic picture as she left the home
in which she had cree known such
happiness.
Dear. Oh. dear" sho sobbel n
know John wouldn't let this happen
to me for worlds. Il he were alive
But John was no longer alive. a
three-day pneumonia had carried
him off some months before. He
had made no viii. There were no
children and the little home went 70
Stephen. The widow received q
right OF dower, but the home, her
lovely little home. went to Stephen
as next OF kin
Now, the average man does wish
70 protect his widow. The aVsFags
man would turn in his grave u
he knew the distress and suffering
there Is among innocent folk be-
cause be has neglected to make q
will.
Tomorrow never comes. I an
thinking OF a woman whose life
story I happened to know. In her
youth she had made a mistake. And
after she had tasted the very Bit
terest OF life, just at the time when
she had almost lost faith In human
nature, q fine man came into her
life. He EFas not wealthy, but he
owned, a little cottage in the
suburb. He married this woman.
and she and her five-yeaF-old
daughter came to the cottage to
live.
To encourage and protect his
wife should ne die. he turned over
to her as a wedding gift his little
home Then there were Wenty
years Of happiness. Mrs. Wife un-
encumbered by a neighborhood
knowledge OF her past, came to be
one OF the towns most honorsd
women. She was active in every
worthy cause. She was q model
housekeeper, a beloved neighbor.
And then suddenly and without
warning this wQman died. She had
never bothered with a wiz. AL
daughter, never knowing the truth
Of the affair, promptly packed ~the
old man off" so that she might
have her fling in the house mother
left her.
OF course. Mrs. Wife would not
have had this happen TO her b.
loved benefactor and husband. But
the law knows no sentiment. ana
her heartIess daughter was next
Of kin.
Put thy house in order may
well be applied to many house
holds. How frequently do we find
a household in which important
papers, such as insurance papers.
receipted bills and the like, .cannot
be found at a moments notice.
During the recent epidemic coz
friends to defray the expenses 0f
lection had to be taken up among
the funeral OF a young man who
had been insured for a long time.
His wife ncver bothered noting
what company insured him ana
could not find his insurance papers.
It was weeks after. when she had
gone through a trying period Of
financial embarrassment. that the
papers were found in an ex-sugar
bowl.
Every husband and wife should
take the time to put their Affairs
in order. A very definite place
should be selected for the family
papers. When the hall Of records
burned in a certain town in the
United States a marriage certificate
carefully preserved by a good
housekeeper for over fifty years
was instrumental in obtaining q
comfortable inheritance for two
sons whose deformities made 10 i'm
possible for them to support them
seNes.
A safe-deposit box can be rented
for a mere trifle and provides an
ideal place for important papers.
Then there are strong boxes for
households and small safes, guar
anteed IRE and burglar proof.
At least everyone can provide q
stout envelope in which to store
papers and documents OF more or
less value. The envelope should be
properly labeled and put in = place
as safe as possible.
One does not need 70 be wealthy
or to engage n lawyer to make a
Will. although it is always wise to
have legal advice in matters OF this
kind. A lawyer told me recently
that a woman died leaving in the
bank $780,. Had she made a will,
some one person might have gotten
the use Of this money, and perhaps
derived some real good. But there
were several claimants. and the
lawyer told me that il all the com
plications are considered IL viii cost
about S125 to divide the S10e, and
so the matter stands.
When the financial affairs oR"R
household become entangIed,s It Is
the housewife who does a good bit
OF the resultant suffering. Consider
the uncertainty Of life. Make your
will and ask your husband to make
a will Collect and put into a safe
place your important papers. Put
thy house in order, It always