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Show fflliR-Tlfl wioprc. WHO. SEEKS : MELPfEET ST. LOUIS, March 13. That the married mar-ried state Is the only happy way to live Is vouched for by Joseph Whyers, who, nowise discouraged by having had to bury four wives the last one on December De-cember 7 Is now earnestly seeking a fifth. From a utilitarian standpoint he advocates wedded existence. . He feels the need of a woman to mother his three boys, and doesn't like to do his own cooking. - Here is his advertisement for another helpmate - "MATRIMONY Wanted to correspond corre-spond with widow 45 years old; intentions, inten-tions, matrimony; good home assured; have three bovs. Call or address JOSEPH JO-SEPH WHYERS, Edwardsville, Ind." He received twenty-two answers, all but one from St. Louis, and (treat was his delight. He summarized the replies and presented the following report: Two-thirds are widows. All the widows have children. None of the writers is more than 35. Thirteen out of twenty-two say they were reared in the country. . The qualifications mentioned in support sup-port of their desire for acquaintance are good housekeeping, good cooking, fondness for children, affectionate disposition, dis-position, loneliness. kindheartedness ! and desire for an affinity. "Don't think I am a trifler. because , I am not," writes a St. Louis widow with a married daughter. "I am all alone and I feel the need of a man to protect me and be a companion to me." j The widow describes herself as 37 years 'old, with gray eyes and brown ! hair. She concluded: "I am not matrimonially inclined, but I think we might have a pleasant friendship which might result in matrimony. mat-rimony. Hoping to hear from you by return mail.' Country-Bred Aspirants. Having been reared in the country is apparently considered advantageous. At least half of those who write made mention men-tion of the fact that they were just off the farm and only happened fortuitously fortuitous-ly to be in St. Louis. "I feel that I am the girl you are looking for." wrote one of these. "I am a tall, brunette, raised on a farm, and was formerly a ' country schoolteacher. school-teacher. 1 am very partial to widowers. widow-ers. ' ' . One of the notes had the merit of brevity. It was -written in apparent haste on a small slip of paper, and all it said in addition to the address was: "Would be pleased to hear from you. Particulars later." This note clearly took time by the forelock. The . writer evidently knew there would be a rush of spinsters and widows for Whyers, and wanted to stake off a claim to be worked later. A St. Louis widow 39 years old, who has six children three, she explains, are able to make their own living says she is "considered good looking." She is five feet one inch tall, weighs 119 Sounds, and says she's a good house-eeper. house-eeper. She also was raised in the country. She will correspond "for pastime and results." Concluding she says: "I am not anxious to marry, but if I would get a good man I might take him, as I am very lonesome. I can give references. ' ' Another St. Louis widow pinned a stamp photograph of herself on a corner cor-ner of her letter. She uses the Roosevelt Roose-velt mode of spelling. She has four children hut one nf them shfl snvs in self supporting. She is five feet tall, weighs 160 pounds, and says she's a good cook and is kind-hearted. Asks "Where Is Edwardsville?" A widow in Princeton, Ind., over "40," carefully states she is unencumbered unencum-bered and an active worker in the Methodist church and Sunday-school. "Where is Edwardsville!" she concludes. con-cludes. "What road is it onf How do I get there t How big is it!" The last sentence of this leter is coy. "I would like to come as housekeeper," housekeep-er," the widow writes, "and something more serious might result.' One spinster of 35 averred she was a good housekeeper, very fond of children, and adds that she thinks she would fill the bill." Another spinster, who lives on Mississippi Mis-sissippi avenue, declares that she thinks Whyers may be her affinitv. and that if he is she'd like to share his remaining rears on earth. She doesn't mention her age. Another declares she's "awfully fond of children," and another says she will call on Whyers Saturday with another ladv. presumably a chaperon. Whyers will answer most of the letters. let-ters. "He's very anxious to get a wife, and he wants to get her as quickly as possible. "This thing of batchin' ain't what it's cracked up to be," Whyers told a reporter. "I work in the mfnes, and so does Eldred, my oldest boy, who is 16. The others are too young. I haven't any brothers or sisters to leave the two little boys with, and it stands to reason there ought to be somebody here to take care of 'em. "When I get home I've got to cook supper, and when I get up in the morning morn-ing I've got to get breakfast and sweep and do all those things. I'm tired of it. It's a "woman's work, anyhow. " Whyers doesn't look his forty-five years. He has a strong, pleasant face and a pleasant manner, and he says he is prepared to be good to another wife. He owns a pretty white cottage in Met-calf Met-calf addition, a suburb of Edwardsville. |