Evening star., 1935-08-08

- should be given certain
part Of their husbands earnings for
their very own Some Of the women
of this community took this seriously
and outlined a schedule Of prices that
ought to be paid wives for the various
duties they perform and In most cases
the total reached a figure far above
the average mans entire income. 1t
seems strange to me that you do not
advocate teamwork between husbands
and wives instead of the principle OF
division. The great majority OF fam
lilies have a limited income, which
must be apportioned out to meet their
needs. These matters must be freely
discussed between husband and wife
and it makes little difference as to
which one passes out the money.
agree with you that money Is the
cause Of the domestic Sstrife we see
all about us and that seems to be the
case whether the man or the woman
has 1t. have never known poor
man who married rich woman who
didn't pay for it through his nose.
VaiAl bAAC 6Oyo LAAdL NAlCll LllCJ cCC d
girl with money approaching to fee
for their lives. But, if you would be
Of service to your generation, preach
teamwork and cooperation instead
of division to the domestic life of the
Nation. A MERE MAN.
Answer-So I do. and I was try
ing in my feeble way to suggest a
little cooperation in the purse-toting
in the family when said that every
wife was entitled to a little of the
money she earned for her own behoof
and benefit. and TO be given to her as
her Just due and not as a gratuity.
y **
T never even entertained the wild
suggestion that wives should pre-
sent an itemized bill to their hus-
bands for the services they rendered
in the home. For. as you say. If
they we're paid for at the current rate
| for such services when rendered by
outsiders, they would bankrupt any
but the rich. Good cooks, for in
stance, in most places get from $40 to
| SIS a week. Laundresses So or 81 a
day. Scrub women as much. Baby
| nurses and nursery governesses come
high. Trained nurses are Sc or 81 a
day. Purchasing agents have their
10 per cent commission, and so on
and so on, to say nothing of social
secretaries, who make and keep
hubby's place in society, entertain
| his friends, write his letters and lie
| for him over the telephone. Figure it
out for yourself.
No woman who Is real woman
and q real wife wants to be paid for
any of these things. They are all
part of her business of being Wfe,
Of trying to help the man she loves
and to make life comfortable and
happy for him and for heir children.
She doesn't put a price tag on her
services. She doesn't think of her
sacrifices in terms Of money. She
gives and gives and gives because 1t
is a Joy to her to give all that she has
to those she loves.
RUT no matter how much a wife
~ loves her hu- Jand she is still a
human being. with natural human
] instincts, and the chief Of these is
desire for a little financial indie
pendence. 1t humiliates her to have
| to ask her husband for every cent she
needs, and she writhes at the in
| justi-e of working like a slave for a
husband who never gives her one cent
of the money she has earned hun
dred times over.
And this.is what I am trying with
all my might to make husbands
understand. I want to make them
realize that the woman's point of view
a>out money is no different from the
mans. Every woman wants her in
dividual pocketbook just as much as
a man wants his, and her happiness
and self-respect depend upon her
having it. just as a mans self-respect
and happiness depend upon his hav-
ing his.
OF course, the ideal relationship
between husband and wife is for them
to be real partners financially as well
as domestically, but very few men
ever rise to this height of justice and
generosity They take their wives
labor and then talk about support
ing" them, which would be laugh if
1t weren't such a headache. If you get
what I mean. DOROTHY DIX.
| y
Dear Miss Dix: Some Of Us girls
got into an argument about going
with boys. Should We accept invita-
tions frol boys whom We care nothing
about just for the sake of having lots