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Show KATHLEEN NORRIS Duty Ranks Above Casual Fancy Mother, and try to ratify to my children their father's abandonment of us? "My mother is everything that is lovely and welcoming. There is room in the old home, but if this happens I will feel that my life as a living beloved, needed woman, wom-an, is over, and that my closest friend has struck a cruel blow at my heart. On the other hand, I cannot can-not compete with a younger, prettier, pret-tier, richer woman, even though I'm a good housekeeper and cook, love my children, and used to be considered full of fun. That's all broken down; I feel like a different woman now. She has won my hus band away from me. Will she win my children? Can the law do anything any-thing to stop it?" i n if FTER 10 YEARS of apparent- ly happy marriage, my husband hus-band has just asked me for a divorce," di-vorce," writes a woman named Laura Post, of Pontiac. "I am stunned at the idea, in fact I have been feeling actually sick," her letter goes on. "Bill put it to me quite quietly one morning after breakfast. He had enjoyed his paper, pa-per, his coffee, his children's chatter, chat-ter, just as usual. But when the children were gone, Jo-anna 8, Timothy 6, he stood up, put his hands on the back of his chair, looked steadily away from me and stated his case. "He is in love with another woman; wom-an; a divorced woman who is the heaviest stockholder in the factory of which Bill is manager. She is rich and handsome. She has a lovely love-ly home in the suburbs where my children have occasionally been asked to go and play with her children. No, the law can't, Laura, and sometimes I think it's a pity. It is really unfortunate that a man in your husband's position, "with club friends, a fine responsible job, children, chil-dren, home, and a good wife, cannot can-not somehow be held to his obvious duty. For he does owe you and the children and the commonwealth the duty of maintaining one more good American home. Civilization is built by persons who keep their word, and put honor and duty and decency ahead of then-casual then-casual passions. For there is no real love involved in this affair between two unscrupulous persons, and if you were inclined to retaliation, retalia-tion, you could do no better than to give him his freedom, and watch his subsequent disillusionment and discomfort. As for you, remember that what seems to be a situation in which he is all-powerful, and you merely helpless and miserable, will change. Poisoned by Passion "In other words, she has everything every-thing to offer, and I feel that I have nothing with which to hold him. The children are at trying ages, noisy, disorderly, needing my constant supervision, needing help with homework, amusement, everything. every-thing. They love their father, but Bill has never paid much attention to them, and for the past year it has been almost impossible to interest in-terest him in anything at home. It is the other woman, Olive, of course. His passion for her has simply poisoned him. "In the beginning he wanted me to be nice to her. She came here to dinner and invited us out to her place for Sundays. Then he began to drop hints as to the advantages . . rich and bandsom . . her children had over ours; which was perfectly obvious. He admired ad-mired the way she dressed, and would only say 'I know, dear,' when I pointed out that she could spend as much as our entire annual income in-come on clothes alone and, in fact, did. "But she told him she made her own dresses and thought she probably prob-ably spent less than I did and, of course, he believed her. Living with her is a fine middle-aged cousin who manages house, cook and. children, but Bill gives Olive all the credit for the way the place is run. Two Questions "Now I ask you two questions," this letter finishes. "Shall I give him a divorce? I don't want to, I feel bitterly resentful and jealous that he can so quietly throw aside all we have built up together and all we have meant to each other. But I would like your advice. "Second: Is it fair that a woman like myself not as attractive as Olive, hard working, perfectly happy hap-py to give all my life and time to my home and husband should have to face this humilation and heartbreak? heart-break? What have I done? Why am I to break up my home, go back to |