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Show ! Respect Them Less, but Like Them More "Tea. It lb utOrly tni that th American wC rrspet itim husband loaa than husband used lo ba r-IMbetcd. r-IMbetcd. Bm ah Mna, for aoma rvaaoe, rtaJlf t Ilka him mora," wrltta Alexander Black In th Bap-Umbar Bap-Umbar liarper'a mln. "It la aa tha titular had of tha family that tha American husband cornea In for tha sharpest criticism. Both forelm and domestic critics are. on occasion, (lib la aasartUia that ha does not properly act tha part. We are told that tha foreign husband, good or bad as an Individual, holds bis Slaca; that foreln children may be rourht up without fear of Ood. bat not without tha fear of father; that ("rein wlvea always know who ffuea flret wboee tastes determine the dinner and the ventilation, who leada the con vernation, whoa slippers must be warmed, whoa nap muat not be disturbed. . . 'The ok ta. evidently to pretend Uiat tha American husband la sweet person, enamored of tha cynical cyni-cal beatitude, blasted are tha meek for tkey shall be married ... "To recognise both children and wtvea as persona oan Involve heroic renunciations. The degree of the heroism he-roism must depend upon tha Inherited Inher-ited lurra of tba mJvidual. and upon tha nlmbleneea of hia sense of humor. Tat children who rard the aid man aa a ood sport are probably bettrr fun than children who pretend to Ire obliterated when tha oar talks In." . , . . Mr Black by "O manna claims that the American husband la perfect Ha ref rets that tho American husband leaven the book radin ao the wife and worries alone; on a radio culture. He also deplores the American husbands hus-bands habit of not noa icing his wife's clothes. Few husbands, ha Bay, uti. Use the knowiede-o that homage to a gown, as a gown. ivea a woman mora satisfaction than a masterpiece of compliment which Includes the woman herself. Woreo MM, .few hue-bands hue-bands avoid the blunder af being nip-pant nip-pant about cloth. "It doea not matter that a boa. band's vaudavllla Jeat. That's a pret-ly pret-ly dran you nearly have otyjayaed to conceal a real chagrin over the physical display." declares Mr. Black. "Such aarcaama are a pad Invest. nient." Then, too, tha America husband has no flair for studying the nice points of married romance. He feels less savage toward a wife who sheds responsibilities, according to the author au-thor than toward the woman who shed's handkerchiefs, gioves aad other ob)ecta aw all occasion. However, after -reading thla article In Harper's, one will recognise aa virtues, vir-tues, many husbandly tralta which have hitherto masqueraded aa faults. "In JCurope aa eiee where, a too patient pa-tient boredom la often mlatakaa lor meekness," write Mr. Black. "When the American man la bored as with tee. a, or etudy clubn, or picture pic-ture gallerlea. and chooeea not to maka a row,- tha effect la etuuuyma and unseemly, though It may appear to him to bo better than a row. Ha wants the price ha paya for not doing or knowing tho thing be doeon't want to do or know to bo a quiet price. He pays, aad the picture of htm paying is not Imposing. I have witnessed bis gentle bewilderment In tho wak of a wife who waa after Art, aa patient with her culture aa with her bat, per-hapa per-hapa knowing that both war quite new. and 1 could believe that no iu-ropeaa iu-ropeaa waa likely to guaaa aiu aot in ths Ufnsl ... The accusation that ho spoils his woman la quaintly congenial to tha American man. To feel lavteh ta to feel a kind of aultanlo superiority. A man may bask In such emotions. Ha may feel aa flattered aa a Uermaa who la accused of having an Iron hand. Tradition alls ta hav no trouble trou-ble la ahowing. to their own satisfaction, satisfac-tion, that American women really are spoiled, aa much spoiled aa the children. chil-dren. , Tho American husband and father rises to say, 'I did It.' perhaps with a good deal of complacence. Whether he goe on to explain that It Is almply tradition that has received re-ceived tha blight will depend largely upon hia interest In tho eubject, la any event, he is likely to be unre- Kntant. Smashed traditions cannot put together again, and if It la too lata ta relntroduca tn oerre role. It husband la an Idealist. It would deeply plaeae him If he might be accused ac-cused of filling tho bill If She happened hap-pened to admit or contend, that be measured up . . . The traditional master of tha house waa a stark figure. He may have been logical, but ha waa Km e some. Ha was indispensable to novels and plays. Hia way of cutting off the son, and of hanging the door on the disobedient daughter, especially when It had begun lo snow, facilitated plots enormously. He la still good for a sob If It can be arranged so that the mother will do no more than look heartbroken 'In the crisis. Homebody really should hit him with a oh air. Thla wouM cure him, but It would spoil the story. . . I can remember being shocked and harmed by an American wife's analysis analy-sis of the reason why. to attain' a perfected sublimation, she should have thra husbands, three concurrent husbanda. . I'nder ouch an arrangement arrange-ment the Business Husband who went forth would nave a splendid , freedom of act loo. Ha could con-1 centrat on office efficiency, promotion, promo-tion, distribution, road or mail order aalea. the enter ta lament of buy era : tat In tho evening club conference, i out of town ooaventlona aad tho showy wlvea ef purchasing agent. That tha bo-ao roof bad begun ta leak would be to him a triviality concerning con-cerning only the Handy Husband. The Handy Husband would bo - selected solely with regard to hia versatility In tinkering. He would know all about hollyhocks, and manure, laundry traps, hot water hag, can openers, gar be ire paila, screw driver, picture frame wire, camphor cheats and Vale I locks. He would know how to atop windows from rattling, subdue the obstinacy of doors, turn mat tress a, wire a lamp, air a "rug, mend a doll, or rationalise a vacuum cleaner. ror-him ror-him the U would not eitst.. Ha would always have time . Then there would be of coarse, the .Lover Husband, a glorified Nice Man. tall, but not too tali, romantic, pleasantly emotional and, at times, perhaps even tempestuous, but a non-smoker, non-smoker, meticulous In the matter of is too tot to ftrc-u about It. If It la nfas-vry to mum rponBlbUlty to Ju-tiry hin -bdlcatlona. It la comfort-inc comfort-inc to pratatrd that ho prli tho r-uTt. r-uTt. Ha llatana to tho catalog of th American wlfa'a alna. Ma haa hia own apacial catalog u a of bar pacul. larttlea. Ha la fooliahly annoyed. It may ba, by profoundly HtUa thlnca. Ha may ahuddar to aaa har. whan aha haa a head cold, dab at har noaa without with-out lift in har- vail. Ha may notloa that at alx paoaa tha daalgn In tha vail looks 11 ka a hldaous birthmark. Ha 'may wlah that aha had tha Sanaa to waar rlaasaa whan aha naada thorn, that aha had at lat oaa pockat for har train ticket, or aha wouldn't eye . him while ha foe through thlrtyona pockets after his own. Ha may re- ; view har alna. Ilka tha shrill talking. 1 snd her follies. ltk tho red dirt oa 1 the lips, and decide to call it a day. Since It is all part of hi very thorough job of epollln her. who shall presume to complain! He doesn't know anythlnc about art, hut he knows what he likes. In his crude way .ths American clothea thouah capable of a certain spirited caauaineea in wearing; them. "He would a wear Juat enough to give blm a manly effect, but his sew lenity would be refined aa became s man who looked well In church. He would he a good dancer, bright at bridge, with the correct vote for reading aloud, a cheerful taste la ties and a discerning Interest In dinners. din-ners. He would be moderately witty snd a noteelees steeper. Being freed of tha sordid distractions of the Bust, ness Husband,- and having no diver-etty diver-etty of duilea auch as must fall to th Handy Husband, be would always be right there. Hs would not be mined as a listener by any habit of wondering whether that noise meant trouble with the kitchen holler again. Hs would. In fact, be no mors subject sub-ject to bedeviling subtractions, than either of the other huabsnds. Each, like an endowed specialist, would be, and could aford to be. winged by high purpose. In ensemble Ihey would SaMure ths perfect home. "Automatically. th wlfa also would become perfect. |