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Beveridge, Albert Jeremiah, 1862-1927

"The Young Man and the World"

At least I have
always observed that the wife of a really masterful man finds her
greatest happiness in being merely his wife, and never attempts to
take any of his tasks upon her. And why should she assume his labor?
Her natural work in the world is as much harder than his as it is
nobler and finer.
Speaking of politics, I have always thought men, young and old, ought
to consult their wives and families about how they cast their ballot.
What right has any man to vote as he individually thinks best? He is
the head of the family, it is true, but he is only one of the family,
after all. This Republic is not made up of individuals; it is made up
of families. Its unit is not the boarding-house, but the home.
The Senate of the United States is the greatest forum of free debate
on earth; but the counsel of the American fireside is far more
powerful. Wife and children have a vital interest in every ballot
deposited by father and husband--an interest as definite and tangible
as his own. Every voter, therefore, ought to discuss with wife and
children, with parents, brothers, and sisters, all public questions,
and vote according to the composite family conviction.


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