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Show I flOW aBdMARglED LIFEll M Im the noted aiithor J I I SOME MODERN IDEAS. 'I think, Alice," I said, "thai the lady on tho dollar Is perhaps a greater homo wrecker than tho human love pirate. pi-rate. This idea that the money is earned by the man belongs to him alone and that what his wifo receives frcm his income he gives to her by favor is one of tho time-worn tradi-iion tradi-iion of a man-made world. "Howover, in all riiy experience "You'vo had so much," interrupted Alice with a cmile. "Well, one can't help seeing that this money skeleton is at least rattling rat-tling behind the door of many a closet in the homes of otherwise apparently happy families." "Speaking of-love pirates," said Alice, Al-ice, Komewhat irrelevantly, "what do you think about the case of poor little Ruth Gaylord?" "Just at present, Alice, I am thinking think-ing more of Helen Van Ness," I 'answered. 'an-swered. "Frankly I think that Ruth Gaylord will be better off to separate from Bobby- She is perfectly content-j 2d with her children and I think Bob ideally has been more or less of a problem prob-lem to her for seme time." JIB More Like a Mother. M "If she thought about him at all," W said Alice. "Ruth has always been m more mother than wife. Even as a Ml little girl her doll houso contained a E larger family of dolls than any of m ours and they were cared for and pet- ted to a degree that at times became m very annoying to the rest of us whcn E we wanted to play at something else. ' I Then she went in for that kindergar-I kindergar-I ten fad before she married Bobby, al-j L though her father is immensely weal-I weal-I Ihy, The last time I visited her thc 8 whole house was a nursery. It had t been made over for the accominoda-j f tion of the babies. The comfort ofj every one in her home was subservient! to their fancied welfare. I made upj my mind I should never visit her again until they were all away a col- j "What do you think she is going to! dp now?" I asked anxiously. j "Well, frcm tho tone of her letter j I think she has decided that it would ! hfe verv wronir to trfve Bob a divorce II to marry another woman." j E "Oh, when her pride is pricked shcj I can shed some of her exigeant mother-: F hood and become a human being, can 1 F "Katherine. I don't understand you! j Do you mean to tell me that you up-: . hold Helen Van Ness and Bobby Gay-1 i lord in their affront to society? You 1 ? must realize that they have offended J I the code of every friend they have, i Surely you would not give John a di-j vorce if you found that he had come' to the conclusion that it was Eliza- betb Moreland whom he cared for in-y in-y stead of you?" ! When Love 'Has Fled. j "I certainly should, my dear," I an- swered firmly. "I want no man to , Live with me after his love for me is dead." i "And what about yourself? Would' you live with a man after your love fori him was dead?" "I don't know, honestly, Alice, 1 1 don't know. It would depend much i upon circumstances. If there werel children " ' "Oh, thero you have It! Ruth, you! know, has three chcildren." "Yes, but Ruth you say, has the means to take care of them. AUce, I sometimes think that if we had the economic Independence that our suffrage suf-frage friends are always talking about, I there would be many more divorces: than they are now. Reformers seem to be viewing with 'alarm the increase! of divorce and they attribute a great !' deal of this increase to the unrest otj: women.. I have come to believe thati' our mothers and. our grandmothers 1 wore just as restless as the modern i 1 woman, and they chafed against the;' I marriage bond until their wounds were raw, hut the old-fashioned woman looked upon economic independence as far removed from her as the moon is from the earth. "The only way she knew of earning a living was, as George Bernard Shaw says: 'Tho way of being good to some nice man and letting him pay her bills,' Our mothers, perhaps, were more unhappy than we, but it was a part -of their everyday's work to hide the knowledge of their unhappiness within their despairing souls." "Goodness, Katherine, what is the matter with you? I have never known you to bo so cynical." Not Particularly Inspiring. "Well, my dear, If you will stop to think about it, my position just at present, is not particularly inspiring. I , have at the present moment 80 cents in my pocketbook. My husband declines de-clines to give me any money. I am expecting a child. You know as well as I what it means to live with Madam Gordon. John declines to give me a home of my own, and he has informed i me in a tone which makes mo understand under-stand that he feels I am entirely to blame in the matter, that he did not Avant children for a number of years to come." Alice looked at me sympathlzfngly, and then she said softly: "And yet that little shopgirl walking along the street has just cast envying glances at us. riding in this luxurious electric car." oc |