From: Krasna, Bessarabia
8 May 1912
I am thanking the worthy Mrs. Gottlieb Bertsch for her correspondence in Issue #39 of the paper. I am very happy when I discover that one or another reader from the reader’s circle is interested in my correspondences, that they applaud them and that they respond to them. It can easily happen that you think about something too deeply and get carried away. That is why I am always grateful when in such a case the readers bring me back onto the right path. (*Editor: So far your correspondences have been quite good and very useful.)
As far as I remember and by looking back into the Staats-Anzeiger for reference, I find that my essays are not of such nature as the worthy contributor looks at it. I noticed that the worthy reader is of the opinion that I am striving to demean women without reason and deify men. This is not the case and a wrong interpretation of my reports, since I am not talking about a certain woman or a certain man, but simply about what a marriage needs to be built upon to live in peace and harmony.
I would have never thought of sending such reports to the Staats-Anzeiger, if I wouldn’t have had the daily experience that there are two insignificant things in this world, namely the human beings luck or destruction. That is why I took the pleasure to bring some entertainment and advice to the reader’s circle, something about wedlock in which these two things – luck or misfortune play such a big role, namely obedience and disobedience.
Indeed, I did not mention these things in my essays but instead tried to explain how important these two things are in a marriage. That is why I compare marriage with an engine. If you don’t pay attention to these two items the marriage will resemble a machine whose parts don’t function correctly. Certainly everyone knows that when setting up a machine certain main points need to be taken into consideration. Everything else has to be adjusted to these main points. Therefore every reader will surely agree with me that by establishing a marriage, first of all, the main terms have to be looked at, one of which is named “obedience”. This is also written in the sacrament of holy matrimony as provided by God.
But how are we human beings doing with that? Instead of obedience there is often disobedience. Honorable contributor Mrs. Bertsch, you remark in your correspondence in Issue #39, that in Russia and especially in Europe, many women are treated badly by their men. Now, I will not contradict you in this matter, but in any case disobedience plays an important role in that. Disobedience has thrown mankind into sin and unhappiness. Why shouldn’t disobedience be able to make individual women unhappy?
Further, you remark that you feel sorry for my wife if I have a wife. Yes, I certainly have a wife and a good one at that, but were she and also you worthy contributors prone to disobedience then I would have to feel sorry for both of you. Further, in her correspondence the honorable reader points to the husband’s obligations towards the wife and what respect and esteem he owes his wife. In that respect, I have the same opinion as the Mrs. Contributor but I maintain that only then will everything go the correct path, when the wife does her duties just the way I explained them in my essay. Certainly the husband also has responsibilities toward his wife, but if she doesn’t know hers then the man’s efforts are in vain.
I am calling attention to the remark of the editorship regarding the worthy contributor’s column. The remark stated that both have the same duties in regard to happiness in the marriage. Since the husband has to work outside of the house, just like the immortal poet Friedrich Schiller said so nicely in his “Song of the Bell”, the wife has to take care of the housekeeping. Thus, shall the marriage be happy and useful, then there has to be rules and order. The wife should not interfere with the husband’s concerns, about which she perhaps does not know anything, and it is the same the other way around. I admit that female advice in some cases of male business is not to be sneezed at, but the horizon of most women in this respect is limited. That is the reason why the wife should either get involved carefully or not at all. The wife, and this is natural and desirable, has to take part happily in what is good and bad regarding her husband and her family. But a wife who insists to hear all details and circumstances which are strictly the field of the husband certainly acts unwise if not stupid. Naturally, things are different if the husband asks for her advice. In that case, the wife has to know everything in detail. But I assume these are exceptions. A husband by nature feels humiliated when the wife is trying to outdo the mentor even if he should be almost blinded by love. For now we want to end this.
Gladly I would like to report about all recent happenings, but I am sorry that my time right now is not allowing me to do this. I have so much to catch up on that is waiting in line. I also would like to write about my previous place of residence Emmental. I have to postpone this to another time.
I am thanking the editorship for accepting all my reports. I will make an effort to deliver articles on and off in the future. Up until now the old machine in Devils Lake unfortunately made a lot of misprints, but I hope the new machine will overcome this problem. I also hope that the machine will eradicate the reports that only contain personal attacks.
I am greeting the reader’s circle everywhere.
Romuald Dirk
From: Krasna, Bessarabia
18 May 1912
Today I received Issue #40 of the Staats-Anzeiger. When I opened up the paper I noticed that the Staats-Anzeiger had found a new home in Bismarck. But I regret that the expectations of the new machine were not fulfilled. So we will patiently wait a little longer. Since patience overcomes everything. (*Editor: Hopefully the honored Mr. Correspondent is now satisfied. We readily admit that the first issues in Bismarck weren’t as good as they should have been. Such a move destroys even the best calculations. But now the new machine is in good working order and we think that the honored Mr. Correspondent has noticed a change for the better. “Everything takes it’s time.”)
Several weeks ago my friends in America, especially my old colleague Anton Jochim, my brother-in-law Jakob Marthaller and Georg Mastio made me very happy with their correspondences in the Staats-Anzeiger. But recently they haven’t written anything. Wake up dear friends and make use of the new machine with lots of correspondences, so that the same gets lots of work so that many readers will join the paper.
I am heartily greeting all my friends in America and Canada, as well as the reader’s circle and the editorship.
Romuald Dirk