The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-11-21
In. So CT e 9 1 Y

to refer to your husband as q friend.
We trust the full explanation is not
inferred in Il story OF the woman
whose husband had signed the pledge,
back in the days when we devoted our
energies to keeping the men away
| from the men. A kindly settlement
worker asked this woman IL her hus-
band was treating her better since
his reformation.
Eyes, indeed, ma'am," came the
answer. "He treats me elegant, now.
More like friend than a husband. =
Now, where's the joke? We all
know what the woman meant for we
have all taken more Indifference, not
to say discourtesy or actual unkind-
ness from our husbands than ever we
endured from our beaus. For two
reasons. think The boys-meaning
our men folks-have gotten careless
for one thing, have fallen into de-
pending on our love to forgive. Sec
ondly, the love really is there, ready
to prove worthy of their confidence.
To be sure the said confidence is very
irritating at times. We long to jar
Notwithstanding may be friend ia
Their, or friend-brother-we long to
jar our men-folks' maddening COM
placency by proving that we do not
love them enough to let them tie
knots In the best curtains when they
want more light. Your husband has
no business to suppose that you love
him enough to let him be late for
dinner so often. But, honestly, didn't
you use to forgive him sweetly when
he came late in his counting days :?
Or, perhaps, he never came late. Per-
haps, he managed, somehow, in, spite
Of business and fat tires to arrive on
time.
Well, there you are. Something to
be said on both sides. Husband
doesn't act like friend, and wife
doesn't treat him like one. We leave
out of consideration the men who
truly are their wife's worst enemy
We are just talking now about the
general run Of contented husbands OF
contented wives men-folks like
yours and mine. To repeat, husband
doesn't act like friend, and he
doesn't get treated like one. Remedy
ing the one condition might have an
effect on the other. ] wouldn't say
never tried 1t,
He doesn't act like friend be-
cause he doesn't have to. He enjoys
his privileges. An INDUCED husband
reminds me of dog that is allowed
IN the house. You know how the dog
stalks through the rooms, happy as q
niger in a parade, curls himself ur
ir the best chair and growls II you
try to dislodge him.
The reason we don't treat husband
like a friend is because he is OURS
capital letters, OURS. I'VE have .
perfect right to make exactions @
him. Far be it from me to say tina
we enjoy the privilege, that We coun
On his love to endure It. / don't den,
this, still all l say is that we feel tina
we have right to be exacting witt
our very own husband. shouldn'
wonder II we feel 1t Is our duty to d
! 90. We hold our own up 10 stand
ards that we do not set for others
: Why do we care so frantically whe
- our own man eats soup out loud, O
absent-mindedly, drinks out OF hi
y neighbours glass or goes to sleep i
church? / know. It's a matter G
personal pride. It's because we war
g our husband to be flawless. / CUES
+ we override 1t. please regard all tha
| say this afternoon as strictly cor
: fidential. l guess we expect to
: much OF our husbands in particula
e and of men-folks in general.
/ believe | am about to speak NOR
: seriously. 1t is hard to take thi
subject seriously, but | am about t
: do SO. Certainly, carry the matte
too far when we drift into feeling {
= resentment-especially against me
e in general.
ej
= Speaking of particular instance
i there are depraved, degenerated, al
normal men in the world, but they ar
not our men-folks. The man VIII
!, has hurt our feelings, even the ma
a who has broken our heart, perhap
- is a laundering boy, a selfish, wifi
;. boy, perhaps, but not the monster {
cruelty we melo-dramaticaly imagiu
right when the hurt is the worst. PEI
{, haps his head gets in the way of h
N heart sometimes, or his heart gel
a In the way Of his head. He thinks v
fnUht IN hso ahfa - cao Ah0A