Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-11 | Page 23 | May 1 Declared "Marriage Day"

If v MAY 1 DEGLARED I"".'- "NURRMGE MY", j, Sultan of Turkey Issues Im-' Im-' ''I perial ecree to Promote f Marriages in Country y CONSTANTINOPLE, April 11. The Sultan, Mohammed VI, has issued an imperial decree' proclaiming: May 1 as i "marriage day" throughout Turkey in an effort to promote the weddings and ' . to arrest the decline in birthrate. This action was taken on the request of Hazim Bey, Minister of "Interior, who ascribes the decreased number of tJit births in Turkey to the" frivolity of L ' young women. In the Sultan's decree, all engaged r- persons who have been unable to mar-, mar-, yy earlier are' urged to do so on May jW are to be made for marriages per- ' formed on that day, guests at wed- j dings are to make no girts, the first children of those who wed on Ma 1 are to receive Ihe names of the children chil-dren of the Sultan and to receive the gift, of a bracelet from the. governor of the province in which the child is born. IL The Sultan's son is named d'Ertogh- f row and his daughters are Roukie and t The edict is especially directed to ; ihe provinces of Borussa, in Anatolia, 1 which attracted much unfavorable - - r comment in the Mohammedan press ' t because of Its greatly reduced birth- I ' rate artd the tendency of its population i to violate the Moslem prohibition of the use of intoxicating beverages. Gov-ernment Gov-ernment officials allege that people of ;.' Anatolian villages, men and women. -. V alike, Indulge in what they call "burn , lug nights" of music and feasting, j Indulgence in modern dancing has 3 ' aroused the protest of a member of " ihe Chamber of Deputies from Anato- y lia who has introduced a bill authoriz- y t officials to prevent women from ' "participating in the antics and capers A. of the ball room!"