Show Kathleen Norris Says Parents Should loft Use se Common Sense Bell Dell Syndicate Syndicate Service 1 I J f i 3 1 r- r 1 1 i 1 r r y i if f l I m i mJean Jean brings bring young oung people to the thc house and they never neter re use a second cut of 0 beef or pic pie And the wreckage they can cause in a case of 0 soft jolt drinks is unbelievable By KATHLEEN NORRIS HE Whites live in Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Phila Phila- T THE TH delphia and they have a daughter Jean 17 and ason a ason ason son Robert two years younger Their lives have run along a fa familiar familiar familiar fa- fa groove until now they have lived exactly as have millions millions millions mil mil- lions of American families owning owning owning own own- ing their home and their car having time part-time help going away for two weeks of summer vacation putting Jean and Rob through public school with plenty plenty plen plen- ty of luxury on the side Now the Whites have come to a difficult cr crossroads and they cant can't agree Father White is a man of strong will and he needs it at this moment for Mother Jean and Rob junior are leagued against him Father flatly and simply wants to go on as they are That is his entire platform Jean and Mother somewhat indifferently abetted by Rob want to rent the house move to a smart apartment go in modestly modestly modestly mod mod- estly for entertaining and give Jean the chance her friends will have of meeting the right people and going the right places Doesn't Like Their Home Robert Whites White's income is a year Olive his wife began a budget when it was little more than half that and they bought the house nine years ears ago It is a square house with trees and a front garden a double garage four bedrooms and two baths room living-room study din din- room ing-room kitchen two fireplaces and a small sunny ingle dining-ingle off th the kit kitchen hen To ninety-nine ninety women out of 01 every every every ev ev- ery hundred it would represent lux lux- ury But to Jean White it is just perfectly horrible and commonplace and she wishes it would burn down The Whites pay a month for interest on a mortgage home insurance and amortization Robert Robert Robert Rob Rob- II ert White pays 40 a month for life insurance The table costs an even hundred a month and the four-day- four week a-week services of Amanda Johnson Johnson Johnson John John- son about 35 more Young Rob comes home ravenous every day and makes incredible inroads inroads inroads in in- roads on bread jam and butter drinking exactly a quart of chocolate chocolate chocolate choco choco- late milk as he does so Jean brings nice hoarse boys to dinner and they never refuse a second cut of beef or pie The wreckage these young persons can cause in a case of soft bottled drinks is unbelievable Jean calls upstairs Mother l may we open this can of ham and have these eggs And what can Olive call back but Of course darling what else are they there for I Costly Incidentals I Home food and insurance and service therefore consume half hah the income Above and beyond these are the incidentals that all budget keepers abhor because they sound so insignificantly small and add up so brutally big Incidentals mean telephone and long distance calls tailor laundry cleaner clothes shoes dentist doctor church movies movies movies ies theater clubs newspapers magazines gasoline and cleaning of the car flowers stamps stamps stamps-no no one of them terrifying but the whole mass unspeakably depressing The Whites owe various small bills now for the first time in their lives Jean belongs to a ski club and that costs money and had to have an emergency These bills fret the man of the house he and his wife both thought them somewhere around two hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred until they added them up the SPOILED CHILD The spoiled child i is a problem problem lem not only to her parents parent but butto butto butto to herself She has never learned to think thin o of f others and that is isone isone isone one of oj the first lessons she must learn before she site can hope to achieve the happiness she takes for granted anted as her share in life The Jean whose father wrote this letter is a spoiled child She Site wants want more than titan her father can provide But he himself f has helped to create the problem he asks Kathleen Norris to solve other night and found they came to exactly This caused a n sort of family panic in which Jean expressed expressed expressed ex ex- pressed her ideas Jean and her mother think the time has come to borrow a good round sum rent the house and move to one of the beautiful new apartments apartments apartments apart apart- ments just finished in the smartest part of town The square win all dow corner of the big room drawing-room in these apartments its white-brick white fireplace and indirect lighting more than reconcile Jean to the fact that she would have to take for her own what was designed for a servants servant's room and that none of the Whites White's furniture would be suitable in the place Only chromium pipe white lea leather ther and crystal furnishings would fit there The rent is but Jean argues that the old house would rent for a hundred anyway And she does so want with want with tears and smiles and kisses how she wants wants-to wants to I-to to entertain in the new place to have that address address address ad ad- dress on her writing paper to have fun with the others of her crowd until she gets married Both Parents Are Wrong Ill be darned writes Rob senior senior senior sen sen- if I want to go in for more expense ex ex- e expense pense now I want to stay where weare we weare weare are and see if we cant can't cut down expenses Just tips in the new place would stand me in about twenty a month the whole thing would be bedone bedone bedone done on borrowed money and I dont don't like it Answer us honestly his letter concludes which of us is right My opinion Robert is that neither neither neither nei nei- ther side is right I think you and Olive have been wrong all aU along and I think its it's your fault that at 17 Jean has such completely false ideas Years ago you should have been saving a thousand a year out of that handsome salary years ago Jean should have realized that that last expensive year of private schooling with its inevitable friendships friendships friend friend- ships and comparisons was not for fornero her nero Years ago Olive should have lifted the heaviest of your burden by bringing that admirable budget of oi hers not just within the narrowest possible margin of income but far farbelow farbelow farbelow below it Since you have so spoiled Jean that debt and pretense seem to her herthe herthe herthe the natural steps toward finding her husband and place in life you may maybe maybe maybe be very sure that when she does step socially above you and her mother and needs you no longer no consideration m may be expected from Jean should your old age be dependent and helpless Needs to Be Awakened So my advice to you now is to move indeed b but i to some sma small place whose rent wont won't be more than 50 Rent your present home indeed in in- deed but only to cover overhead expenses there and to invest the rest Beside that put into government government gov bonds every month before you turn one cent over over to the family |