Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-26
ADJUSTING OUR FAMILY
FINANCES TOLD OF
.aily Letter by Frederic u. Haskih

day. The wife has begun to de-
mand a fairer economic deal than
she has had, but neither she nor
her husband has given much
thought to what is really fair for
both.
Council on Family Finance
The National Woman's Party,
which urges full equality between
the sexes has organized a home
makers council in it's group of pro-
fessional councils, and members of
the party say hat this council is
going to consider the important and
complicated question of family fn-
ance. They say that it is not a mat
ter for legal adjustment, except in
so far as some state laws hinder
women from attaining complete
economic equality. The arrange
ment of the family budget is rather
dependent on custom and ttradi-
ton.
If the council attempts to untan-
gle the financial problems of mod
ern matrimony it will have to I'M
dertake the difficult task of mold
ing public opinion. All that a be
done is to study various expert
ments that are made, conduct in
organizing the professional councils.
satisfactory methods. and announce
the conclusions.
The council has not begun its
| program, but some experiments
have been made by progressive cou-
: Piles in search of a fair standard.
One of the most complete plans for
adjusting family finances is worked
out by Isabel Kendig Gill, who js
,organiing the professional councils.
A-- Hf1 ha1inrra- fhaf tIA~a ia
only one satisfactory basis for FAM
lily finance and that Is to establish
an equal partnership, and to share
equally whatever money husband
and wife earn. She says she has
tried this system when she was
earning more money than her hus-
band, when she was earning less,
and when she earned nothing at all,
and tina she and her husband find
it the fairest plan. Her idea is
that each should contribute to the
successful upkeep of the home &C
cording to his or her honest ability,
and that each should draw upon
the family resources according to
the need. She advocates joint pos
sessions and a joint bank account.
Marriage Means Partnership
She admits that if a nan who
has an earning capacity of $4,000
a year marries a girl who before
marriage earned only $1,000 he
may find it hard to see why he
should share eually with her. But
after all the fact of his choosing
such d girl would indicate that he
thought her a suitable wife fol
him and ones chosen she has {
right to an equal partnership in the
firm.
Little tolerance is expressed fol-
the husband who decides autoerati,
cally whether or not his wife shall
spend money for q new hat. Thu
allowance idea in all of its phases il
strongly opposed. Following on
this idea it is Illogical for a divorced
wife to expect her former husband
to pay her an alimony allowance.
VI IF there are children, the di
vorced husband should be made u
provide for them or should do hi
share toward their support, unit
they are of an age to take care o
themselves" says Mrs. Gill. 'Bu
as far as the couple are concerned
l believe that the property and saw
ing accumulated during the part
nership should be equally divide
and each left free OF the other fiji
duCldAlys
In this division of possessions
property which a man or woman
may have owned before marriage i
not included. How such propert
il to be disposed of might well b
decided by q couple before MARI
age, she suggests; that is. whethe
the husband and wife will retail
the property then in their posses
sion separately in their own name.
But everything accumulated durin
the years of marriage she woul
have held Jointly. and, if the firm i
dissolved, divided equally.
This is certainly an up-to-date ar
,rangement in that 1t provides speci
fcally for a possible Termination 0
the partnership. This has no dauh
become necessary in any practics
theory OF family finance, since tn
increase in divorce has had an oh
vieus influence on the modern cou
pies attitude toward househol
economics.
With marriage no longer regard
ed as necessarily a life long matter
both husband and wife may have
feeling, perhaps only dimly real
ized, of insecurity. The feelin
manifests itself in a tendency ia
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