Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-07-27
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
VuInerabIlIty Of the overbIown Cap
talns Of Industry and the Reactions
Of an Advanced Woman
BY SARAH ID. LOWRIE

| Of the fashionable sophisticated, the major
| portion of the cottages are occupied by
| widows Reflects Of the big men. who made
their pile, came here, waIed fat and Kicked
kicked over the milk container, died and left
bewildered widows to rattle around in their
| overblown palaces
Here is meat for two topics-"The vul-
| nerability of the Overblown Captains OF In
| dustry" and The Reaction From the Stand
| point OF an Advanced Woman
! do not know II the writer meant to
write on these two topics himself or whether
he thought l might.
1 venture to differ from his summing up
In one particular.
/ do not believe those widows rattle
around In those huge stone and marble af-
fairs which the owners call cottages and the
only samples Of architecture--French,
Gothic, Palladium, Richardson, Early Pull
man, American, Queen Anne and Shingled
Exaggerations-samples, stones throw
apart. l do not believe those widows feel
inadequate or bewildered. ...
For the first time since they married their
captains Of industry they have actually a
free hand at the pile" And no woman
who has had her spending dictated for her
on no matter how generously huge a scale
but is moved to her depths by the chance
to use her income as she has a mind to.
THE better captain of industry man
L proves himself to be the more completely
does he wish to keep his hand on the rcins
Of spending. Extravagant, yes! Spending
money like water. yes But along the line
he has mapped out Huge establishments
In three or four places, breeding farm,
fancy camp in the Adirondncks. royal
collection of jewels, Il museum of pictures,
library of first editions. all the clothes
and furs and laces and gift shop things his
wife can buy wherever they are: Venice,
Atlantic City, Quebec or Paris-a Rolls
Royce and a private car, a pew at Newport
and motor launch at Paul Smiths. an
indefinite charge in half the shops in New
York or London or Paris; but they must
be extravagances that he can sympathize
with The spending must be something that
reflects his wealth and his ideal Of her; it |
must be keeping up what he has drawn up |
as the mode of life suitable to his position.
1t must pay for the reputation he has estab- |
iished OF his power Up to that point he
is glad to give his wife free hand; but
for the things that he does not see the
sense Of. in big or in little matters, all
lavishness stops. The bare requisite stops.
His money is not hers to spend as he does
not please. In many cases his mo: oy must
be spent by her as she does not please.
Think of the long arrears of shelved
wishes she has to make up when one fine
day he departs for good, taking nothing
with him and by a sudden fit of careless
ness leaving her completely mistress Of her
self and the means to carry out her own
ideas
MO DOUBT she misses him, possibly she
~ is lonely without him. but she knows
what to do and has her life cut out to get
it done before she too has to go away
She has thought about every expenditure
of his for their combined life; how she
would have done 1t had she been allowed n
free hand, how she would have saved here
to branch out there, what she would have
omitted entirely and what she would have
done instead She has often thought of the
possibility of just this climax and @hat
would be the result in the event Of her
having larger income than her yearly living
expenses would entail spending.
DON'T tell me she is surprised, bewildered
or is 'rattling about
OF course l know that there are plenty
of husbands who do not inquire how their
wives spend the money they allow them if
it is spent on themselves, or possibly on the
children. But very few men give it to their
wives, for instance. as they would give it
to their married daughters. ! fancy the
reason for that is that even if she makes
ducks andflrakcs of her allowance, a mar
ried daughter is not part Of his daily life,
while II his wife Is not so we'll dressed as
she could be as his wife, it reflects on his
generosity or on his power. His allowance
to his married daughter is a gift outright;
his wfe's allowance is trust fund to spend
for their mutual comfort.
And what is true Of the money his wife
has is also true of her leisure.
One of the most perfect excuses that A
woman has to make for not doing some
thing is:
MY husband has positively forbidden me.
lie says when he comes home tired he does
not want to see me spending the evening
working, or doing accounts or writing
notes. or whatever the philanthropic or
political, or religious chore may involve.
Now, two cases out Of eight, the husband
may have nothing to do with the excuse:
It's just an excuse But it will always be
legal tender with any group Of women be-
cause every woman knows she is not an
ideal wife If she is az interested in her board
meetings and philanthropic correspondence
as he is in his business. And above ALL if
she regards her duties as n wife and mother
and hostess and housekeeper rs the business
for the day and her own personal affairs as
pleasure for the evening, she knows her
husband will think that she is oyerworked
and must be saved from herself
uER time and her allowance are not her
i l. own to use unqucstiOned as though |
her judgment could be trusted as at least
equal to her husbands as to the manage
ment of her life: Yet he makes n will leav-
ing to this fnllible creature the huge re-
spOnsibiity that he has consciously shirked
the responsibility of giving away that pnrt
of the money which he has acquired that,
If he IS to be known as n generous man.
must 60 for the public good lie also leaves
her larger allowance than she ever had
nominally during his lifetime to spend with
out his protective restrictions.
For the first time in their lives he really
honors her by trusting her, is actually gem
erous with her, does make her feel greatly
loved and yet greatly independent And il
is all done too late for him to reap rho
benefit of her pleasure in being given power
to be herself
T WAS told by a friend of mine of an e..
l. perience she had had with her father
year or so before he died. She wns his
sole heir and the executrN of his wifi. She
was woman well on in life and not only
presided over his household. but was very
much involved in various important affairs
Of her own. But he never allowed her n
know what his income was, how it was
invested. when the investments fell duo Tor
renvestment. what banks he used, or rho
actual provisions of his will "
He never treated her as a partner in his
nffnirs OF rnnsltrd hnr Indictment nhu,..