s a money earner, I cannot understand, nor can I understand how
some men expect women to be happy in idleness. The most unhappy women
in the world are the women who have a great deal of leisure time. Many a
man objects to his wife taking up any outside work even though it would
not interfere with her household duties. This usually is due to false
pride on his part. He is afraid of what others will say; afraid his
friends will think he is not capable of supporting his wife. Some of
these men forget to take into account the possibility that an accident
or illness may take him away, business failures may sweep away his
accumulations and then his wife must face the necessity of earning her
living. Alas, how seldom is she prepared to do this! If, during the
leisure time of her protected life, she had been perfecting herself in
some branch of industry, her future would be easily solved.

A woman can devote several hours a day to outside affairs and still not
neglect her home duties. Home-making does not necessarily mean that the
woman herself must do the washing, ironing, cooking, baking or sewing.
She must see that these are performed properly but the actual work may
all be done by others. A business man does not attempt to do all the
work of the office himself. He employs a bookkeeper, a clerk and a
stenographer to attend to the details while he directs. It is the same
way with a home, a woman may employ others to do the physical labor
while she directs.

Then as to the married woman earning money. Let me give you an
illustration. A woman has spent the early part of her life perfecting
herself in some branch of work, for instance, book cover designing. She
marries a man in moderate circumstances and does not feel that she can
afford to be idle and employ someone else to do her house work. She is a
slenderly built woman and it would be a great tax on her strength to
perform all the household duties--for some parts of housekeeping require
such hard physical labor that even many men would not care to attempt
them. It certainly would seem a very reasonable thing for this woman to
devote several hours a day to book cover designing and use the money so
earned to employ a strong woman to do the heavy housework. This
arrangement would be better for all concerned; first, the woman would be
happier and more contented; next, the man would enjoy his home more,
for any man certainly would rather come home and find his wife contented
an