fpy, . " 'f r " " j
' ' , - ' ( L .P Sh0?T f ' AeSkg?,
H 11.12 1 hint- breath lo ixpie.ss
an opinion on this HUbJi-tt 1
shall declare that the llrst
unci foremost reason Ih lnt uiii
of tho subject position of tin- wife When
Hpeak of the subjection of woman we mean
always of a married woman. It was not to
frco tho unmarried from legal bondage that
tho long, hard Unlit was made In this eoun
t try. for the laws did not discriminate
against the spinster with especial Injustice,
whatever soelnl custom might have done
Practically all of the beneficent chances In
Uio Htatutes relating to women in the last
half century have been mado to protect the
wife from the husband. Most of the Ine
qualities which still remain nfTect only
married women. The one who remains sin
gle has llttlo to fear.
There Is not a business partnership of
any kind that could survive under condi
tions which placed one member of the firm
under the absolute domination and control
of the other. Il.v what Ionic, then, ran we
expect It In a partnership where the con
ditions are far more Intimate, exacting and
. llcnte than are possible in any other?
ilut." It may be urged, "tlieie is a vast
dllference between marrlaue ami other con
tracts. In thlB tho woman yields her free
dom and Individuality to one who Is a
sworn protector, whose intercuts are Iden
tical with her own, and who Is deeply con
cerned ill Seeing that she receives exact
Justice." If this be tho case, why Is It that
men themselves, for the Inst fifty years,
have been repealing the old laws regarding
the wife and replacing them with new en
'i' intents whli li would enable her to protect
herself against her protector'' Ilut, not
withstanding all that lias been done, the
majority if wives are still In subjection to
he husbands while they contluuo to live
with them In the holy bonds of matrimony,
and so long as this is the caFo we never
can have, as a rule, the happiest and most
exalted form of marriage.
VIch lime l niitnuoN,
The wives of today have Innumerable nd
imtnges over those of past generations
but the most Important of all Is still de
nied, viz.. an equal right to the Joint earn
ings of the mnrrliiKc partnership. Tho law
has yielded so far. in most of the states,
as to permit a wife to retain possession of
the property she brought Into the (Inn ami
that which becomes hers by will or gift.
If she go outside of tho homo to work, her
wanes nre her own, but If she pontine her
labors to tho demands of her housoh.dd slu
T'iTT!!?!' '-'r---w ..... .t
Why Many Marriages Prove Failures
ts legally entitled only to board, shelter ami
clothes, and the husband dcclili s as to the
quallt) of these. Whutivor she nets in ad
dition is not by legal rlnht, but simply
throtinh tho inllticucc she inn bring tu bear
upon him. If she dies llrst she cannot dis
pose by will of a dollar's worth of all they
have accumulated tunethet, but at his death
he can dcpihc her of at least two-thirds,
and in many states more, of their Joint
eainlnns. The law, however, secures to her
unconditionally a certain amount, presup
posing that if thia were not done the hus
band would be likely to di pilve her of all.
The man who Is penniless has the world
before him with all of its opportunities for
making n living. Modrrn Innovations in a
largo decree have placed the unmarried
woman In the same position, but the wife
has no such freedom. Ily statute Bho owes
her services to her husband, and her own
senso of duty compels her to devote them
to her household; therefore she is excluded
from the woge-earulng occupations, and, al
thounh performiun her icnular day's labor,
is not cut, l led to handle a dollar of her
earnlnns. I place above all other causes
for uuliapplucss In marriane tho absolute
lluanclal dependence of the wife, and I
lirml) In llcve that three-fourths of the
friction would be removed If a fair share of
the family income were placed at her unre
stricted disposal. Just as now the husband
controls all of It. There Is not space here
to no Into an arnument on this proposition.
Nothing taKis the independence, the self
respect ami the contentment nut of a man's
life so completely as pauperism, and.
stripped of all subterfune, this is the con
dition of the vast majority of wives. Thev
smart under the Injustice; they rebel at the
cajolery, deceit and sometimes Intimidation
with which they must praetlco to net what
oiinhi to be theirs by rlnht, while they arc
often irrltnted beyond endurance to see the
husband uslnn money In ways which they
wholly disapprove. If I were a husband I
never would admit Hint my marriane was a
failure until I bail tried the profit-sharing
plan with my wife.
Where the Wonder l,le.
The wonder is not that so many mar
rlanes are a failure, but that mi many nro a
.access Members of tho name family,
parents anil children, brothers and sisters
who have had yeais to study one another's
Idiosyncrasies and nre hound together by
tho stronn tie of bb.od-rolntloutdilp, often
Hud II extremely dlllleult to dwell In har
mony under the same roof. How much
more dlllleult then must It be for those wh'
Know but little of each other's Inheritance
of peculiarities, who nre mart led. far too
often, on a brief and imperfect acquaint
ance; who are suddenly thrown into the
most Intimate tclalioiiship, without the
power of getting away from it, and who
occupy a position not of Interdependence,
but of authority on one side and often un
willing dependence on the other how in
lluitidy inure dlllleult must it lie for thciii to
brlnn their lives Into harmonious adjust
ment' The marvel lies in the fact that m
many succeed In dolnn this, for the Im
mense majority of marrlancH are fairly
satisfactory to the contracting parties. It
1b only those that prove to bo mistakes
which challenge attention. The one whose
troubles are carried Into the courts at
tracts mi much notice that the yuy which
arc belnn passed In comparative peace and
happiness are entirely lost sight of. and
people cry out, "Why are so many mar
riages a failure?"
The i oiimis of 1S1MI snowed about
llM.linii divorced persons In the United
States out of a population of over GS.&QO.ono.
A small fraction of 1 pir cent is baldly
appreciable in so vast
tainly does not Justify
or the conclusion that
Ht It in Ion is discredited
a number and ccr
the slightest alarm
marriage as an In
Our recent census
doubt losH will somewhat Increase this per
centage, but even should this be tho case
then' is no necessity for a panic There
was never In the history of the world
such a period of transition as the one
thiough which wo are now passing and It
is natural that tho Institution or morrlag
should ho included in the general shaking
up 'I'll Is means simply that it must be
mole carefully studied with a view to pi c
iug it on a broader and firmer basis
While modern conditions of I fe a I lo a
men and women innumerable opportunities
of meeting, these are of the most super
llcliil character and do not permit the long
mil thoionnh acquaintance which always
should pre ede man lane The latter
biltins many disillusions even to those who
believed they had the most absolute knowl
edge of one another and they often n pent
at lelsute to as nreat a degrio as those who
married in haste Society In the so-called
middle and upper classes penults the un
married to meet only under artificial con
ditions, at balls, receptloiiii, dinners, teas
devoted to small talk with the accompani
ment of music, Dowers, gala attire and
crowds of people all attractive and do
llnhtful in a way, but affording no chance
for a study of character, temperament,
tastes and Ideas. Yet on such acquaintance
os this the young folks marry and Bet
about to faro the great pioblems of real
life. That, under such en cuius:, nices, inure
than iw per cent of manl.igis piovcs -o
endurable at least that the parties mnku
no ef'lort to have them annulled Is gicatly
to (be credit of human nature ami a splen
did testimony to the sacrament Itself.
llo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 IIcIiin.
11 Is claimed that the marriages whhli
result from co-education In our colleges aie
almost unlvei sally happy. A very wide ob
servation leads me to believe thai tills is
tho case. Those years of companionship In
the classroom ami on Hie ampiis haw
given that mutual knowledge which should
bo the foundation and have developed that
similarity of tastes and put suits which is
essential to a congenial union. This rule
holds good wheie men and women In tin
Bumu profession marry, as physicians, law
yers, ministers, writers, teachers. I havi
known of scarcely an iiiMnnee whole such
a marilage turned out unhappily, and tin-
must lie because of Hi ngeniallty of dis
position which leads belli into the satin
lino of work and piompts them to continue
It tonether. Society is apt lo condemn mar
rinne between an employer and Ills book
keeper or steimnniplu r. and yet their dally
companionship has niveii each an inslnhl of
the liabllii mid disposition of the other ami
shown their ability to work together Inn
monloiisly Where such mnniagcH aie
fo'inded on mutual respect and ull'ectlon
the chain es ought to lie in favor of their
proving satisfactory, If we accept the picm
Iko that a thorough acquaintance s a prlue
requisite for a successful union
A prominent leason why n.any matrlage
are failures Is found in the Impeiftel de
velopment of men and women. While
neither would expect to slice I In any Kind
of business without a special training, they
rush blindly ami recklessly into this most
omplex ami exacting of all life's relations
and are amazed when bankruptcy stari h
thorn in the face. It is not possible to take
up in detail the niiineious causes which
lead to tills result, the Inllrnill les of tern
per, the lack of self-control ami forbeni
mice, the business Incapacity or tin- hm
baud, the domestic Inaptitude of the wife,
tho total want of an equilibrium which will
enable them to meet their Inevitable dllll
cultles with calmness and fortitude. Tin
vices of youth jirove too strong for the man
to lay aside, and, carried Into married llfr
produce the usual wreck. The frivolous
Btiperflclal attractions which rendered He
girl so charming prove wholly Inadequate
to retain the husband's love, and she has
nothing more enduring to offer The foiin
dulious of a perfect marriage cannot bo laid
upon a dellcleut manhood and womanhood.
I 'mi mill I Ion nl Mil iil ih'hh,
This liriugB us hat K to our original prop
osltiou that the ideal marriage must be
founded on that mutual icspcct which Is
possible only between equals, and out ol
this will grow the only love which is un
changeable. John Stuart Mill Is ofton
quoted as having said, "No oidluary man
is willing to Hud at Ills own llreslilu an
equal III the person ho calls wife." Tills
may liavo been truu when It was written,
but a new generation of women have couio
into existence since that time and llicy have
revolutionized tho old Ideals, liven the
"ordinary" man expects far inoru of "tho
person he mils wife" now than in das past,
while the most piogrcsHlve men are de
manding, If not their equals, certainly a
more advamed womanhood than tho world
ever bofoie has seen. Although the women
of the United Slates stand more nearly on
an equality with the men than do thoso of
any other nation, yet a largei pioportioii
of men here marry than in any other conn
try. Such statistics plow that, while In
creased opportunities in life may make
some women so exacting In the choice of a
husband as to pieveut marriage altogether,
they do not deter a constantly liicieaulug
number or men rioiu mariyliig .Men them
selves am continually raising the standard
for wives, and women aie stilting lo leai h
It, but no sooner has this been done than
they themselves II a nobler slainlaid foi
husbands. Thus each assists Hie other in
rise, and both oi lain a higher level; while
Hie neater that of a unman approaches
that ot Hie man Hie gieater h umus hi
respect fur her. In the realm of education
she has gained a hundredfold ill Ills legard
situ e lie has learned that her mental powers
are not Inferior to his own, This Is equally
true In the business world, since she has
demonstrated her rapaoily in its many ami
varied departments. The logical conclusion
Iherefoie, cailliol be evaded that there must
be a corresponding increase of lespeet when
she takes Iter rightful place In allalrs id
government.
Tills evolution Is developing not mil)
women but men, ami It Is pi educing a
gieater mutual icgard than ever lias oxIhi.i
in tho history ol the nice llveniimlly this
attitude must extend to the relations lie
tween husbands ami wives, with the lne
liable result that, In the fulliiess of time
thoie will be no necessity lo inquire wh)
so many marriages are failures.
SUSAN II. ANTHONY
