Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-28
DOROTHY DIX TALKS


is exclusively feminine occupation, like
| having babies.
People are always telling women that
they should try turning asmiling face upon,
! their husbands and be entertaining and
bright and chatty and wear pretty gowns
and so on.
As matter of fact, no woman alone
and unaided can make happy home any
more than she could move a glacier. She
might grin like Chesire cat and monologue
along until her tongue wore out and be ns
beautiful as houri and look like fashion
plate and she wouldn't raise the domestic
temperature of the home one degree, or
diffuse one ray of real sunshine or Joy
if the husband was sitting up glum and
grouchy or if he was stamping around
the house finding fault with everything.
1t takes two people laughing together
to register mirth. 1t takes two people 20
carry on an agreeable conversation. II
takes two people giving the best that is
in them of kindness, and tenderness and
consideration, and gcniality to make a
happy home. No woman living can pull of
the stunt alone and no man need expect
to marry such miracle performer.
One of the reasons that women lose IN
terest in domestic life, and get slack about
their cooking and the way they keep their
houses, is because so few husbands do
team work. They never notice what the
wife does. They never praise her manage
ment. They gobble down a dinner she has
spent hours IN cooking without so much AS
saying that the sauce was worthy OF
chef, or the salad such work of art 1t
should have been eaten on ones knees. No
wonder the woman gets discouraged
II the husband would only do team work
and show some interest In his home; if he
would discuss the best way of meeting
the II. c. of L. with her instead of growl
ing over the bills; If he would display some
real interest in rugs and thrill over wall
paper instead of saying, "Oh, get what
you want don't know or care, it would
put new pep into his wife and he would
reap rich results in better dinners and a
better managed house, for women dote on
talking things over and a husband whom
she could make a real companion of would
fill any wifes cup with bliss
The place where team work In families
is most needed, however, and where the
lack of it is most disastrous is in rearing
children. 1t takes both father and
mother, standing shoulder to shoulder to
do that perly-and-ala In how
few households do you find this desirable
condition of affairs.
Sometime there is practically no father,
only man who pays the bills. Father Is
too much cngrossed with business to get
acquainted with his children, or to try
to guide them, or to decide anything
about their fates. He leaves that to their
mother, and no matter how fine woman
she Is, she j. incapable of filling the bill
and being both mother and father to them
Children need a mans s experience of the
world, a mans outlook, mans frmness,
q mans protection In the development
OF their characters, and In starting them
In life, otherwise, God wouldn't have
bothered TO make fathers,-an II they
miss this they start handicapped, as is
proven by the fact that so many widow
children go wrong and amount 10 nothing.
Sometimes a man tries to do his duty
by his children and Is baked by weak
silly mother who cannot bear TO see her
darlings disciplined. Father tries to curb
housekeeping allowance to give him
money. Father tries to protect foolish
girl from a bad man. Mother secretly
connives at their meetings because the
girl weeps, Father tries 10 teach the
children obedience, and respect for au-
thority and some sence Of duty. Mother
pities them when they are denied any
thing and connives al their disobedience
and sides with them against their father,
whom she unconsciously teaches them is
q tyrant and brute
What is the result-the hoodlums, the
wayward sons and daughters, the law
uncontrolled youth OF the
day who bring their parents heads in
sorrow TO the grave.
Whenever father and mother disagree
as to the wisdom of some particular course
with their children, they should do so in
private. They should present q united
front TO the youngsters. There should be
no appeal from Cesar TO another. II is
only by this kind of team work that family
discipline can be enforced, and children
reared.