Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-28
DIX'S COLUMN
Business Girls Rob Their Employers.
Wives Defraud Their Northumberland
Professional Invalids Graft on Their
Families With Preventable Sickness


DO YOU ever think that it is dishonest st to p be sick sick when When you ntgl
petty ~t larceny, be because %@i it is robbing those who love you. and trust you sa J
their HnG peace Of mind. their ar1 personal sai saa their money, safely away AWAY /
OF course, there are many people who r really H. Throusi5
down the agonized way to the grave.
These words r not for them. but for that multitude
camouflase for seifishness, and a blanket excuse with which
t they f e0ver up a al hef ns n q aGh ml4 81 dodnr o reprt5on and amd
want to do, and living undone those things which they d.
ttasy . - q lea = eo n b tor ns q = FsSPIs : sick
And euriously enough. they justify themselves by claiming that
II l make myself sick | a m the n who has to suffer" they
If IF o tns were p true e. far be sni it from On the the balance al 1%n of us toll Interfere se hsmss With h !
self alone. We have to listen to their sroans We have to minists
We have to put up with their irrtabtity y and unFeason u because Ca ss,s sick
we'll people do not dare to do. .
Indulgence it is another thing. ~ Our @ aympathies and our assistance 60 .
the the g Eiatt@p of r% f@D se C Himself ST San nfR f P@5 we oyd nsya nSthins but contempt
is such a. large percent@ss Of them absent from work on ss
tNn is often raised whether the delicate feminine constitution
It isn't the work that is hurting the girls. It is the way they
They feel that they have a perfect right to risk bad colds
d a P in papsr.so Pg G satim pumps N m0a and o. eh ffsoS' s soSpP1, s's anS
with vdtn,G mot S enough ugh clothes o to keep ar icicle warm. They
money on an imported hat instead of on nourishing food.
headache that makes sG them blind and s stupid with with i pain. and n
that it is 81 a u matter : 6e tive %a" them a" and f' the "s' aspirin ' bottle
AUNT
But it isn't. They are not giving their employers a
square deal. They ire not giving them the services they pay
for. They ri upseuing the routine of the office, and laying
the burden of their work on the shoulders of other people.
And look at the invalid wives you know! Dozens of them who
clubs and causes, or too much society. Don't we all know womenmw WI
on orgies of housekeeping. o dressmaking. though they know prf
wei that every such debauch is going to end up in q spell of sickness
will call for doctors and trained nurses? Don't we know women
wear themselves to tatters owe church fairs and club campaignsg /
We know women who play bridge every day until they n 81 nervous
they become unbearable at home and whose husbands have to send
off to sanatoriums to get a little peace and rest themselves? We do.
And we marvel that these women never stop to con-
slider how they are defrauding their families. They never con
slider what a wieked1y dishonest thing it is to deprive a hus-
band and children of a healthy, strong wife and mother.
and give them a neurodc, irritable, cross. nerve-wrecked
creature who makes their home about as cheerful Al a grave
yard, and in which they have always to walk and speak in
whispers for fear of disturbing the lady who has just gone to
bed with a neuralgia headache. E
Then there is the large army of women who enjoy. ROOF healtl
are professional invalids for the simple reason that they are too laz,
indoent to make the effort to be well.
They re cutters who literally take life lying down.
They cultivate small ailments. They acquire the sanatorium
habit. and they expect to be ptted and babied instead of be-
ing osracized as dishonest grafters who snatch the very bread
out of the mouths of their families to pay their Unnecessary
Doctors bills. 4@
agpary complaints, and W e have seen many of them cured
by their husbands death. when they had to quit being sick,
and go to work and support themselves.
And that is why I say that it is dishonest to be sick when you ii
be we'll.
DOROTHY DIX.