The Washington herald., 1920-09-29

IN order to live.
The husband was a stern, cold,
hard man, obsessed in his occupa-
tions, which took him from home to
far parts Of the earth. He was
away often for months upon months
at a time. Even when he was at
home he repulsed his wife's endear-
ments, and scolded her for her baby
ish desire to be petted.
OF course the inevitable hap
pened. The pretty little wife, who
must have love or die. found a man
who wasn't too busy, or too pre-
occupied with his own affairs to
feed her hungry heart on the food
that her husband denied her He
paid her all the delicate little at
tentions that she crsyed. He told
her how beautiful, and how lovely
she was. He kissed her lips the
husband had been too Indifferent to
kiss, and, at last, when the husband
came back he found his home empty,
and he killed the man who had
taken his wife away from him.
l do not for a monent justify the
conduct of either the wife or the
lover. but II seems to me that the
greatest Of the three sinners in this
tragedy, and the one who is most to
blame. is the husband.
\ woman should be strong enough
to stand alone and resist temptation
She should have honor enough not
to betray the man to whom she has
sworn 70 be loyal, but when God
does not give a human being a back
bone We cannot expect il to verte-
brate.
The husband knew his wife's
weakness He knew just how avid
she was for love, just how she
reached out unconscious pleading
hands TO every man, just how she
purred like a kitten under a Caress-
ing touch. He knew how credulous
and unsuspicious she was.
And, knowing this. IT was his
duty to protect her even more
against the men with whom she
came in contact, and when he fail
ed to do it her sin was upon his
head.
When a man marries he takes his
wife's life into his keeping far more
than he realizes. He literally be-
comes her keeper and is responsible
for her moral weIl-being as well as
her physical
He recognizes that it is his duty
to feed and cIothe her. but only too
often he fails to perceive that he is
just as much bound to provide for
her spiritual needs as he is ior her
bodily ones, and that il is just as
important to protect her against the
temptations that beset her as it is
to protect her against the danger Of
cold and starvation and homeless
ness.
This duty Of keeping the woman
he has married safe from harm lies
all the more heavily on a man be-
cause the husband is usually older
than the wife, and he has neces-
sarily seen much more OF the world
than she has. By observation, or
experience. he knows to what bitter
ends so many pleasant looking paths
lead.
The man, for instance, who is
married to A woman who must have
some man to lean upon, some man
upon whom to lavish her affections,
some man to pet and fatter her, is
a fool not to realize that IL she can
not have love honestly she will take
it dishonesty.
Nor is she any more TO be blamed
than the starving wretch who steals
a loaf of bread. II her husband
would keep her safe he must give
her the tenderness that she is bound
TO have and that she will instinc-
lively ask Of some other man if she
is denied 1t at home.
Every day we meet gay and
pleasure seeking young wives going
their giddy ways alone. They are
dancing. and dining, and flirting
with other men, while their hus-
bands are at their Offices or their
clubs.
One wonders if these absent hus-
bands are voluntarily qualifying as
first aids to a divorce. or whether
they are so besotted with vanity
that they think that no woman
could ever possibly cease to love
them and prefer them above all
other men. Also she wonders how
they can be 50 little mindful Of
their duties towards the women
they have sworn to love, honor and
protect
The husbands excuse is that his
wife loves society and he hates it,
that she likes to go around at night
and he Is tired and wants to be
left in peace. SO he delegates his
duty as escort to some other man.
Now no man has a right to marry
a human butterfly without having
made up his mind to hit about with
her from flower to flower 10 at least
q reasonable extent. After that he
might restrain her, but he has no
right to turn her into a grub on
tireIy. and still less right to let her
SINCE her beautiful wings against
the bright lights as she Is sure 20
do IL he Is not there to protect her.
For husband is his wife's
keeper and so many tragedies could
be-averted il only he was faithful
to his trust.