334 O ur Farming. 



If that will keep her, well and good ; if not, she may go to the 

 poorhouse Is this j ust ? Far from it. If there are no children 

 all property goes to the wife, in Ohio, which is right. But if 

 there are children, the wife should own absolutely one-half of 

 that farm she helped to pay for, and half of all other property 

 that they together accumulated, and then a life interest in the 

 rest, if she wishes it. For my part, I would say 'give the wife all 

 the property of the firm absolutely, in the case of the death of 

 her husband first, just as the husband has all if the wife dies 

 first. Can you name any good reason why this should not be so ? 

 Perhaps, you say, the wife might get married again, and if she 

 owned all the property, her first husband's children might never 

 get any of it. She might leave it to her second husband. True, 

 but if the wife dies first all the property of the firm is the 

 husband's to do just what he pleases with. He may get married 

 again and his first wife's children may not get a cent. He is not 

 held to his duty by law. Why should his wife be ? It is the old 

 spirit. But we may trust the mothers of this land as far as the 

 fathers. L,ittle by little wives are getting their rights. There 

 'has been a decided change since I can remember, as I could show 

 you if there was time. Before a great while the good time will 

 come when the wife will be considered just as good and trusty as 

 her husband, and an equal partner in money matters. There are 

 many homes to-day where this is literally true. When public 

 sentiment shall have arrived at this point, then our laws will fol- 

 low it up. Until this good time, let every farmer who reads these 

 pages, look out for his wife in the particular just named. Make 

 a will, or in some way arrange it so that if you should be taken 

 away first, your wife will have what justly belongs to her, and 

 what every good husband wants her to have.. Fix it so that she 

 shall be just as free to manage after you are gone as you would 

 be if she should die first. Now, don't delay, but do this to-day, 

 at once. It is right, and noble. If you accept of my pl'atform, 

 my young friends, as given above, you should at once make 

 arrangements so it would be carried out in case of your death, 

 " Whatever we may make shall be yours just as much as mine." 

 A good way would be when you buy a farm, to have it deeded to 

 yourself and wife jointly. Then I should make a will leaving my 

 wife my share and she would gladly return the compliment. Rest 

 assured, my wife will not have to leave our farm if I die first, and 

 she can sell it, and use the proceeds, if she desires or thinks best. 

 It is generally given as a reason why the wives should not 

 have equal chances with the husbands that women are not equal 

 to men in ability. When kept constantly at given drudging house- 

 work we could hardly expect them to be. When given an equal 

 chance with men, can any one doubt that they would soon be able to 

 hold their own ? Have they not shown their ability in almost every 

 line ? But still we do not want women to have that ability that 



