Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-03-02
FASHIONABLE NUISANCE.
Wedding Presents Getting to be
an Expensive Burden.

Recently we saw in New York
paper the confidential communica-
tons of a jeweler to reporter about
a new fashion, which has been intro
duced lately and which seems to be-
come quite popular: The loaning
out of wedding presents. In the
case more,particularly referred to, the
marrying parties, for the purpose Of
making big show, contracted with
said jeweler for the loan of great
quantity of silverware, which was to
exhibited at the wedding to the ad-
miring guests as tokens OF love and
affection for the bride and bridegroom
presented to them on the important
occasion. The story sounds funny
but nevertheless Is guaranteed as
strictly true. There is only one I'M
provement, that could be made on the
plan and that would permit the in
vited guests at wedding to do the
hiring of the presents himself and in
stead of really presenting it, exhibit
ted it for the one day only, "to be
called for the morning AFTER" This
would he a social reform which would
find great popularity in a very little
while.
But to speak seriously of a serious
matter, there is no doubt that the
practice of making wedding presents
has been carried TO great extremes
because of their coercive nature and
particularly as they are but too often
made test of social standing. Not
withstanding much popular disap-
probation of these gifts, they still
continue, though commonly devoid
of the expression of much feeling
and besides as articles of assistance
to newly married pair, they are
failures, for among the poor they are
too insufficient, and among the rich
they are not needed. No gift custom
is more coercive than this, and the
singleness of the coercion has been
multiplied many fold by the creation
of anniversary observances. There
are 10 less than fourteen of these
cotton, paper, leathern, wooden, wool
en-, tin, silk and fine linen, crystal,
china, silver, pearl, ruby, golden ant
} diamond. =.
OF course the practice is often de-
plored and with perfect justification
Here is a wall from Des Moines. AL
; East Side man,-Des Moines is Gu
IN two by the Coon river, and lik,
Chicago, boasts several "sides"-saiC
! to the reporter of the Daily News
Q 'This eternal present giving.is grow
ing into an intolcrable nuisance
8 What with wedding presents, birth
! day presents, surprise presents, ann
i versary presents and presents for n
! particular reason, life is becoming
q burden in East Des Moines. Why
S going around to solicit money 70
/ presents is positively becoming sep
arate industry and is swallowing u
D all other lines of business. Peopl
y complain of high city taxes, but
81 tell you there are scores Of East Sid
u y families who pay four times as niue
5 for unnecessary presents for the
q neighbors as for the city government
~ One subscription list follows anotht
., with lightning rapidity and ever!
u body feels as if he must give or seel
g stingy. Now don't object to givin
y presents when they come freely fro
y the heart, but to be asked to give
dollar or more toward present, al
II to have pressure put on you on Il
G. subject destroys all the beauty of gi
~ ing. The presents selected are
", nice ones, but in ninety-nine cases o.
II of hundred, the recipient would bu
III something else if he had that amou
re of spare money. People subscri
ne who are in positive distress for mo
ey to make both ends meet or pi
as their Just debts. 1t is time to call
q halt. II is bad social economy al
g. bad morals to taxa neighborhood f
y costly and unnecessary present
81 while winter draws near and hui
lg dreds of worthy families are sure
& suffer for want of food, fuel al
clothing. Now, ifyou print VIII
le | say, for heavens sake don't gi
at my name. l wouldn't have it know
OF for anything. l havn't the NOR
ne courage to refuse when the subscri
u ton papers come around, and
n ways give and try to do it cheerfully
~ Still we are fortunate in living
OF civilized country The gifts q
OF here restricted to the bride or brid
'us groom. In India expensive presel
oi are bestowed, and the parents of t
aI bride are often impoverished for ]
10 by the dowry which they give h
w When a great wedding takes plt
wv troops of beggars and priests appe
Sc and they must not be sent aw
"a empty handed. At recent mi
~ ~. riage, 10000 people were SUMPTION
n. ly fed and presented with cloth
.e , and money. There are people amo
n i whom the expected Inequalities
I'LL the occasion of a daughters mi
riage are so costly as to excuse
male infanticide. ON the ground Il
the ruinous expense which reari
the daughter would eventually