The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-26
A Chicago snerestion.

Another novel with purpose has made
its appearance. 1t is from the presses Of a
| Chicago publishing house. and from the
pen of a Chicagosauthor. Til word pen"
may be used in a double sense, for the
author is the proprietor Of a slaughter
house and packing establishment. The
purpose of his book is to point the way
to what he considers a needed reform in
our social customs. He has found that we
do not properly understand love. and take
up too much time with arranging for tick
cts in the lottery of matrimony. Our sys-
TEN of selecting mates for life. through ac-
quaintance and courtship. he deprecates.
and offers a substitute. That he is emil
nently qualified to discuss and solve alb
struse social problems is testified to by the
fact that he runs slaughter house in
Chicago with a branch at Kansas City.
and is rated by Bradstreets and Dun's at
Xxx z-4-11-44. or something like that. The
exact symbols do not make any differ
ence. 1t is enough to know that he is
rated higher than Pror. Goodwin Smith,
Prof. VI. J. Savage, or any of them litry
fellers." except possibly Mr. w. w. Aston
The point of the story, and the
central idea of the Chicago idyllic
reform plan, is found in the
chapter which describes how the
hero, the manager of a travelling theatri-
cal troupe. found husbands for sixteen
young women travelling with his company
as coryphees. The scene was in Denver
Sixteen robust young miners were selected
by the manager. The young women knew
nothing about the affair; did not even
know they were to be married. The young
miners We're charged a "matriculation fee
of 500, and were arranged in a semi-cir-
cular row in the parquette. The orchestra
struck up a tune The curtain went up.
The sixteen young women took their ac-
customed places on the stage and were
about to begin punching holes in the at
mosphere with their toes. At a sign from
the manager the sixteen young miners
made a rush upon the stage. and each
grabbed his future wife There was some
kicking and screaming on the part Of the
young women, but the manager assured
them that it was all right; that he had
thus arranged to provide husbands for
them, without giving them the bother of
a personal examination and selection, and
that they must be good wives to the men
who had just chosen them. Being a JUS
tice of the peace, the manager after adj
journing the show. forthwith proceeded to
tie the sixteen knots with one twist of his
tongue. The young women accepted the
situation, and went away with their ro-
bust young miners. That the plan was a
success the author assures his readers
from the fact that after ten years signor
DeJune, (the hero-manager), went back to
Denver and found the sixteen couples
prosperous and happy. and the leaders of
society. He further assures the doubling
that the elite society of Denver, as it ex-
lists to-day, was founded by those sixteen
queerly married couples.
1t will be observed that the plan of Sc
Letting wives set forth is a modification
of the plans practiced some thousands of
years ago by the ancient Romans, and
later by the Sioux and Digger Indians,
who lived nearer to Chicago. The only
things strictly original about it are hav-
ing it set to music and giving the master
of ceremonies a big bonus in American
dollars. The revised plan might suit the
packing house district of Chicago all
right. But civilization generally will not
pay even as much attention to it as was
paid the Mr.. Higinbothams suggestion by
example that society ought to breakfast
in full dress.