The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-10-24

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mends that they be told-not asked
to Liue Somewhere else.
can't go there, even for a visit. He
has not one cent of his own. To put
him In an institution would break
his heart, and also mine: I couldn't
bear to tell people where he was.
But it does seem like deadlock as
things are now; Frank is constantly
annoyed about it, and / hate to have
the best husband in the world bur-
dened with my folks. Can you think
of way out?"
Get Rid of Him.
The answer is that the only way
out is hard one. But have known
many cases in which it has worked,
and it will work for you. Immedi-
ately, without any argument, put
this worthless annoying old man into
an institution. Borrow on his insur-
ance, if need be, to pay the charges
at some partly endowed home, or
put him straight into the poor-house.
That will bring him to his senses
for the first time In his life.
In one case that I knew an aged
man-of-the-sea got job at the coun-
ty farm, found that he was a natural
vegetable gardener, was permitted
to sell surplus produce for is own
profit, and eventually turned into a
useful member of society. In an
other case an old woman made her
self so helpful that the good nuns
placed her in the position of head
cook, and she was able to send mon
ey to daughter who was in fnan-
cial difficulties. A man of "a can
be busy and happy if he wants to
be, and if your father is persistently
critical and miserable despite all
that good daughter can do, he de-
serves nothing better than the poor
house.
Or better, find some country farm
where woman will board him for
SIS or $50 month. There are many
such places. Let her wrestle with
his peculiarities. Ask your brother
for another S. and make up the rest
yourselves.
Don't Discuss 1t, Do It.
Don't discuss it with him at all.
Just drive him there and say: dad,
your things are all in the back of
the car. Here's where you get out"
If Uncle Dan decides to go with
him, so much the better. But get
rid of them both with the same
speed that they would have gotten rid
of burdensome old relatives some
40 years ago. Old fathers and moth
ers can be delightful and contribute
ny members of the family; but if
they don't choose to be, then surely
you and your Frank are not the per-
sons to shoulder the ensuing unpleas-
antness. 1t all depends upon you,
now, and upon your capacity to face
a few unpleasant hours rather than
a lifetime of slavery.
Every human being ought to plan
for his or her old age, work for it,
definitely arrange for it. Only a
part of such foresight need be inan-
cial; the keeping of friends, the priv
ileges of service, the capacity for
earning a modest living are all as
possible at so as at 26. No human
being has a right to inflict his COM
pany upon young married pair,
be his claim that of father, uncle,
mother, mother-in-law or any other.
Nothing destroys the security of
marriage so quickly as to have an
uncongenial person planted in the
home, a person whom only death
will remove. It will be poor sat-
isfaction to Blanche, 20 years from
now, to realize that she not only
sacrificed Frank, but her children
and her home to this spoiled old
despot.
1t is useless for her to try to Gre
ate happiness for a man who has
never mastered the secret of finding
it himself. Filial devotion makes her
task extremely difficult, but for her
own sake and for the sake of her
husband and children it is essential
that she take this step.
Human decency demands that
children offer every assistance to
their parents, but it does not re-
quire them to ruin their own lives
by making sacrifices that become in
tolerable.