The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-12-01
Howe. About:
The Mother-in-Law
Not Soldiers Alone
Silerius and His Wives
By ED HOWE
o.lsss. Bell syndicate.-wNU Service.

TN MY town there Is much amuse-
ment and gossip because of the
manner in which a shrewd old woman
is fattening a young man. In the hope
he will marry her daughter. And In
case she Is able to bring the marriage
about, every one says she will prompt
ly ditch her husband and son, and go
to live with the son-in-law. who has
every mark of being good provider
easily managed. Every woman
with daughter considers the possible
old age haven the daughters marriage
may provide; so, In selecting the can
didate, the mother Is often more par
ticular than the daughter. The
mother-in-law is often laughed at, but
her victories are many.
The young men who were drafted
to serve as soldiers In the late World
war often tell of the great sacrifices
they made. In some instances, these
were truly great, as many were killed
and wounded.
But the soldiers should remember,
In all fairness, the sacrifice made by
those too old or young to be drafted,
and thus escaped military service.
There is not a single inhabitant of the
United States who has not been great
ly punished by the war. Millions have
lost employment formerly steady and
remunerative; other millions have lost
their fortunes; so many formerly
prominent and well-to-do have lost ev-
erything that the book called who's
Who In America" Is now referred to
as "Who's Through In America"
Possibly more people have commit
ted suicide because of the depression
following the war than were killed in
battle on the American side; the num-
Der Of suicides has at least been very
great and pitiful.
Let no one suppose the suffering
and loss In the war was confined to
the soldiers. One result is that our
once proud country Is humbled to it's
knees; the once rich Americans have
become beggars, the proud people for
merly called smart Yankees have been
exposed as great and helpless ounces.
Let the old soldiers mercifully re-
member the ragged crowd of whom
they are demanding pensions.
Grotius, who wrote an introduction
to the memoirs of Silerius, had long
been the intimate friend Of the author.
During the most exciting days in the
history of Rome, and when Silerius
was prominent In army and senate
Grotius was associated with him both
as soldier and statesman, though. in
less distinguished positions.
Grotius says it was occasionally
charged against Silerius that he was
bitter toward women because he had
never known perfect and enduring
love. Remarking this criticism, Siler-
ius once said to Grotius 81 have known
the love of five women as perfect as
exists; the sex has nothing to offer
have not known. With some dozens of
others l have had the average expert
ence; with a few, excessive misfor-
tune. Women on the whole treated me
well; no one knows better their
strength or their weakness. Such crit
icism of the sex as offer is only the
criticism I direct at myself; at all
members of the human family, In the
hope that we may improve our weak
nesses, and increase our peace and our
comforts"
Silerius says in his memoirs that the
principal trouble he had with his wives
was In dividing money he never had.
Women, he explains, rarely know how
difficult II is for men to make money,
and thus always believe their husbands
have more than they acknowledge.
Daughters have the same difficulty
with fathers, and Silerius expresses
thankfulness he had none. Silerius
was prominent in old Rome as soldier
and statesman, but nothing In his book
or life indicates he was money max
er. Few men have the gift, but wom-,
en- believe every man has or should
have it.
estimate emerged from the prole-
tartan into the lower middle class at
about the age Of twenty-four. and have
led a rather active life since. On the
third of May I reached my eightieth
birthday. / frequently ask myself the
question: "What do you think of 1t
all? For one thing, 1 have
lived longer than I expected. At sixty
and sixty-five 1 made arrangements for
disappearing around seventy accord
Ing to the three score and ten maxim.)
Every year since reaching seventy I
have laid In supplies sparingly, as a
householder should who expects to
move out next day, or in month or
so. Today l noted that my
shirts, socks, handkerchiefs. collars,
suits, shoes, need replenishing; that
1t Is necessary to put in another or
der. but / shall order smaller Quanti-
ties.
II 1t Is right that the industrious
divide with the lazy, why is it not
finally accomplished, either by violence
or consent? The contention has been
made thousands of years. but the saw
ing and Industrious still have their
money, and the idle their grievance.
Brigham Young said he loved the
Lord, loved his people, loved to do
good-and when he made all his wives
cry by taking another wife. called that
love. -. / do not know exactly
what the word means, but it doesn't
mean what is attributed to it by Nor
mons, playwriters, or young men when
they go TO see the girls. In describ-
ing love the dictionary reverses itself