TEACHING GIRLS THE VALUE OF MONEY. 687 



well educated. It is amazing that such profound ignorance on 

 ordinary business matters exists. In conversation with many other 

 wealthy women I discovered that it was very much the exception to 

 find a woman who possessed the slightest knowledge of money matters. 

 Now, why should these things be? The time has passed for a 

 young girl to be brought up a " perfect fool." Let her not waste 

 the beautiful morning of her life in profitless and frivolous occupa- 

 tions. The reason often given as excuse for the ignorance of many 

 women is, so few comparatively have any money to keep, therefore 

 it is useless to teach them. 



True, it is unusual to find a young girl with an independent 

 fortune; but she may marry rich, and what a help she would be to 

 a sensible man if she were capable of aiding him in his business 

 affairs ! Again, she might be left a widow, and have the entire direc- 

 tion of her husband's property. No knowledge is ever lost. The 

 more one knows, the more one realizes how little one does know. I 

 maintain that a woman's intellect is perfectly capable of coping with 

 and understanding business affairs. In some matters she is far 

 shrewder than the average man, and in many cases her quick insight 

 sees at a glance that which man requires time to penetrate. Only 

 give her half a chance. I do not wish for a moment to be under- 

 stood as advocating women becoming stockbrokers or lawyers; noth- 

 ing could be more unnatural or unsuitable. It seems to me only in 

 accordance with the wishes of a reasonable woman to participate 

 with her brothers in such rudimentary knowledge as will enable her 

 to oversee or take the entire charge of her own property. Take, for 

 example, a well-to-do New York business man. He has acquired 

 through his own industry and shrewdness a large fortune. He maps 

 out the education for his children. His sons are sent to the best 

 schools, and afterward to college. He determines that no expense 

 shall be spared to fit them for their future career. 



For his daughters expensive foreign governesses are engaged, 

 who teach them the languages, music, and other accomplishments. 

 Or the daughters are sent to some high-priced fashionable school, 

 where they are put through a course of training to enable them to 

 " shine in society." Having reached the age of eighteen, the daugh- 

 ter returns to the parental roof. 



What does she know in exchange for the large sum of money her 

 education has cost? Usually her penmanship is bad and illegible. 

 Her knowledge of arithmetic very slight. These two essentials of 

 education are not her forte. 



But she is a good dancer, and perhaps at the assembly or some such 

 function the father's heart has swelled with pride as he noticed 

 how eagerly she was sought as a partner. She can sing French songs, 



