| Show J DO bO TOO TOO MANY PEOPLE MARRY 11 On the heels of the Mackay-Ber- Mackay lin wedding and other much dis cussed unions and ups break-ups comes Bruce Bartons Barton's question Do Too Many People Marry l He himself supplies the answer In Good Housekeeping Housekeeping Housekeeping House House- keeping heedless that St. St Valentine has dedicated the season to courtship court court- ship Without claiming any wisdom in inthe inthe inthe I the matter he writes it has seemed to me that there are six common sense conclusions on which most of us might agree 1 First of all and trying to start with one that will cause the least violent disagreement my own ob observation ob- ob tion persuades me that no woman woman woman wo wo- wo- wo man ever ought to marry marry a man If she thinks that by doing so she Is going to reform him I 2 2 The lack of money is a far more dangerous peril to marriage in i these times than Jt It ever has been before This Is my second common commonsense commonsense commonsense sense point and I do not remember ever evel to have seen It given sufficient emphasis 3 3 It Is a mistake for young people people peo peo- file to expect to begin where their parents left off Most of 01 us lack Inck the courage to start our children out precisely as we started and it is fair enough to recognize that conditions conditions conditions con con- are different and more dif dif- dit- dit But we are very foolish If in our eagerness to make malte things easIer easier ier we we make them easy The wage of comfort is softness and the soft do not survive 4 You hear a girl say Ray sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times I r am not marrying his rela rela- tives Im I'm marrying him Or It may be the boy who makes the sturdy declaration of independence concerning her family It jt is a fool fool- l j ish declaration a red flag of future trouble To say that young people should not marry when older people must live In the the- same house with them them-n would be a cruel overstatement overstatement overstate overstate- ment But certainly any young people people peo peo- pie are fortunate who can stand standalone standalone alone meeting their own problems and making their adjustments without without without with with- out the interference or counsel of i others and every parent who can maint maintain in a separ separate te existence even I Int at nt some sacrifice allowing th the young folks to fight it through on their own Is probably helping very verj much to keep one more marriage ou out of difficulties 5 5 A great deal has been written about marrying as a social obliga obliga- tion The church and the press a awell as aswell well as the tho state when represented by such leaders a as the late Colonel Colone Roosevelt have combined to urge marriage as a universal duty and to brand as slackers those id who for any reason deliberately deliberately deliberately choose to pass through life without Incurring family obligations To question the final authority of this point of 01 view Is to tread upon dangerous ground But certainly cei the day is passed when young people people peo peo- pie ought to be urged into marriage as a duty wh when n stigma should attach to spinsterhood or bachelorhood bachelorhood bachelor bachelor- hood or the tue childless couple be un under under un- un der a cloud of reproach Only those marriages are needed by society in which the two people feel not only ohly an tn urge but an Inner assurance of success pa parenthood is an obligation obliga tion only where here the parents have a reasonable chance of giving their children as good physical and mental mental mental men men- tal equipment and as fair a start as they th themselves enjoyed 6 6 Finally it Is not always necessary necessary necessary essary for a marriage to be entirely happy in order to be successful This statement will wUl doubtless sound bound curiously old-fashioned old in m these pleasure loving days but history and biography support t it vigor vigor vigor- S C S With these six 1 points noted Bruce Barton goes on to Illustrate them by citing clUng cases of couples who succeeded succeeded suc sue and couples who failed He gives this concrete advice to single young men Any young oung man who is about to marry ought to do two things first first- 1 He should find out what It costs other couples to live as well veU as the financial ideas of the young joung lady he is courting 2 He ought to throw the searchlight on his o own personality person son aUty and see how It will wm register as asS asa asa asa S a husband and a father |
