Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-11-10
HYMEN'S SUGAR TRUST.
Col. Switzler Does Not Think True
Love and Marriage is a Failure.

Col. VIM. T. Switzler, chief of the Bureau OF
Statistics, read paper before the Unity Club
at its meeting at the Spencerian Business Col.
lege last night. He treated the subjects his
torically and philosophically. He admitted
the topics were as old as our civilization, but
the interest in them is ever new, exhaling
zephyrs redolent with the freshness of the gar
dens of spring, and inspiring us with the activi-
ties of a new discovery. He maintained that
love was not a myth, although it may be mys-
terry in respect to the potency of its influence on
human conduct and character 1t is the master
passion of the human heart-not a myth, or a
conceit of the brain, or an hallucination, or a
disease of the liver, but a substantial entity, a
fact, a force, living Specification, and one of
the greatest Of not the greatest moral esthetic
and hygienic forces that controls human life. He
maintained it was all-preyading: that the young.
middle-aged, and even the old of both sc xes
were susceptible to it's benign influence.
Omitting any extended discussion of the
various forms of love-love of country, love of
race, maternal, paternal, filial, and brotherly
and sisterly love-he confined himself chiefly
to the love subsisting between the sexes during
the pre-matrimonial state, called romantic
love. This he exalted above all other develop
ments of love, ''loye divine, all love excell-
ing" a monopolist, or in the current language
of our politics and commerce, "a syndicate"
"a trust'-most likely
SUGAR TRUST,
"love with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might" a love, one of
whose cardinal tenets is that marriage should
be continuation and not an end of courtship.
He believed that the ancients who seemed TO
have no proper conception of the true sphere
Of woman, understood little or nothing of ro-
,arti ub ia ne
outgrowth of our advanced Christian ciyiliza-
ton. 1t is true few isolated men of genius
like Socrates, from whose writings he read an
extract, who were in advance of their times
both in thought and sentiment, had glmmer
of il, and therefore glimpses of it are found in
the mythology and literature of the Greeks,
Hebrews, and Romans, but not until the APP
pearance of Dante's Vita Nuova" was the un-
searchable riches of the gospel of modern love,
the romantic alteration of a man for a woman,
or vice versa, revealed in definite language.
Some of the tests by which romantic love may
be known to exist. contradistinguished from
admiration for traits of character, real or i'm
aginary, charms of person, position, family or
property were discussed, prominent among
which was jealousy, which was denominated
as last true sign. Much historical research was
shown to disclose the present condition of
MIscALLED ooURTsHIP AND MIscALLED MAR
RAGE
among many Of the semi-civilized nations Of
the earth, concluding with terrible denunci-
alton Of marriages for money, or position, where
true love is an absent or subordinate factor.
He anathematized the proverb that "money
can buy anything" and deprecated its evil in
huence on our social life. Money cannot buy
anything. 1t cannot buy character, economy,
capacity, honesty, sobriety. truthfulness,
health, heroism or genius. 1t cannot buy ami
ability, or compatibility Of temper, or happi-
ness in the marriage relation where true love
il absent.
But it can buy, and often does buy, marital
Disagreement, domestic hells, and scandalous
divorces; It may buy houses and call them
homes; fine carriages and call them chariots of
the blessed, and costly silks and satins, and
diamonds which vie with the stars in luster,
and call them robes Of light worn by angels
radiant with brightness and glory. But il true
love be absent, II the blind god does not pre-
side over the household, home becomes Hades,
carriages become hearses bearing living skele-
tons TO living tombs. silks and satins become
shrouds Of buried happiness, and costly gems
death-coins on the closed eyelids Of crushed
hopes and ruined lives.
MARRIAGES ron MONEY
or for position, or both, and not chiefly for
love, are still too common in America. Such
marriages are not made in heaven, and cannot
be solemnized before the court of Hymen with
out outraging its true objects and functions.
II We could lift the veil that hides from public
view the wretchedness which they have en-
tailed upon mankind We would behold house
holds utterly wrecked by them. presenting such
Q picture Of distrust, incontinence and sorrow,
Of married misery, that would justify public
opinion in scathing them - With lurid light
ming. Yet IL h not tue-0od forbid ft ever
will be trus-that the ins1itation Of marriage
IL . failure. Il IL not . failure, for u = or
dained Of Heaven; = the bulwaxk Of our social
lie. The inhsritance and handmade Of cur
ChrisTian civilization and Of thst priceless
liberty, regulated BY law, which disenthralls
and snneblss woman end blsssss the whole
world.