The Washington herald., 1921-07-01

that makes me more deadly weary
than another ii Is all OF this maud
lin bunk that is talked and written
about the American man neglecting
his family for his business. and
leaving his poor, prosecuted, neg
lected wife to NOPE alone at home
while he disports himself in orgies
Of work at his office-
That is the theme OF innumerabls
novels and stories, and because .
man Is striving with might and
main, and bending every energy TO
make a place In the sun for his
wife and children. II Is represented
as sufncient Justification for said
wife to hunt up an amnity and
have An affair with some man who
has time to play around with her
because he doesn't have to support
her and pay her bills for the frlls
in which she looks So ravishing-
And invariably in such cases the
hard-working husband is represent
ed as the one in fault not the SHY,
selfish, self-centered woman he hao
the iIl-Iuck to draw in the matrl-
unonial gamble, who has not neart
enough to appreciate the sacrlnces
that a man is making for her, nor
brains enough to understand and
sympathize with his ambitions
The worst feature Of all Of this
twaddle about a mans business be-
ing his wife's deadly rival Is tnat
a lot of neurotic women have taken
IL for gospel truth, and are sned-
ding barrels of tears OF self-pity
because they have had the cruel
fate befall them of being married
to hustlers instead Of lounge lizards.
1t doesn't seem possible tnat any
woman could be fool enough to be
Just as jealous over her husband
being vamped by the grocery ousi-
ness as she would be II he was
vamped by a blonde siren with d
willowy figure and long jade ear
rings. But II is a fact
During the course of a year l
get hundreds of letters from women
who saw that their hearts are brok-
en-, and they are the most miserable
creatures alive, though nobody ever
would think so to look at them.
because they live in hne houses, and
have motor cars, and beautiful
clothes, and travel, and are Tapped
in luxury, but they are neglected
by their husbands-boo hoo.-who
never 60 TO afternoon teas with
them, or summer and winter resorts
with them, and who often work at
night, and sometimes actually break
engaRements to go to the theater
with them because some horrid old
man has come from California, or
Maine, to see them about some
dreadful business deal - boo-hoo-
booo-hoooi
No. There's nothing the matter
With hubby. He's good, and kind,
and generous, and he never looks at
another woman, but he's just alb
sorbed In his business, and his busi-
ness has alienated his affections
from the wife Of his bosom, and she
feels fll-used, and prosecuted, and
she wants to know what I think
about II.
I think that when a grown-up,
married woman lets herself get
into such an unhealthy state of
mind that she views her husbands
business as a rival it's a great
pity somebody can't spank her into
sanity, as we do a child in a tan
trum. No; I am not advocating 6
child-beating, nor wife-beating, but
there are times when it takes a good
stif jolt to wake US up and make
US see things as they really are, in
stead of the way we have been
beholding them in a bilious dream.
And this is one OF the occasions.
am not saying that men should
not give more time to their families
and less to their business than they
do. The ideal arrangement would
be for men to be able to make
enough money in a few hours labor
sufice, and to be able to spend the
balance of the time in heart to-
heart association with their wives
and children. But before that ideal
can be realized several things will
have to happen.
For one thing a man will have to
give up all ambition. because no.
body ever achieved any Worthwhile
thing yet who kept union hours.
The ones who get here are those
who while their companions slept
were toiling upward in the night"
The man who is Johnny-on-the-
Spot and always on his job is the
time. Don't forget that, weepy
ladies.
Business will also have to be re-
constructed SO as to permit a man
leisure in which to hold his wife's
hand. As 1t is now it is as relent-
less as fate. 1t is a life-and death
game, with all a man has on the
table. and he either sits in it and
matches his wit. and energy, and
foresight against other tight-nsted
players, or else he has to drop out
entirely. It's no tiddle-de-winks
that you can take a hand in now
and then, as the notion seizes you.
When a man starts an enterprise
he has got to push his stone up
the hill and over the crest, or else
II rolls back on him and crushes
him.
For another thing, wives have
got to demand less il they want
more of a mans time. You don't
hear of the woman who complains
that her husband is neglecting her
for his business telling him that
she will go and live in a cheap
street, and do her own cooking, and
give up the car, and wear hand-me-
down dresses. Not much. She
wants to eat her cake and have IL,
too-and II can't be done.
So l say to the woman who imag-
ines that her husband neglects her
because he gives most of his time
To his business:
Brace up and act like a sensible
woman instead of cry-baby. Go
down on -Nur knees and thank God
for havins given you a man who