Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-05-16
CREDULITY OF THE WOMEN.
Are Prone to Believe the Yarns De-
signing Men Spin for Them.

Are Prone to Believe the Yarns De-
signing Men Spin for Them.
1t seems strange that young women
will trust themselves to men about
whom they know practically nothing
and that their parents do not make
more rigid investigation into the ante
cedent life of the suitors for the hand
of their daughters. The latest disas-
ter resulting from feminine credulity
and parental carelessness has befallen
Miss Emma Seaman of Brooklyn, who
Mas married to Charles Telfor Smith
about six weeks ago and on Tuesday
discovered that he had wife and a
babe in New Rochelle and that she
was not a wife at all. The plight of
this young girl-she is only Is years
old-is pitiable. Her dream of hap
piness is ended. The young man with
a fine presence and taking manners
who talked about his wealth had i'm
pressed her and she had married him
while on visit to Utica, where he had
followed her. And now she learns
that he is a scoundrel who betrayed
her.
1t is not surprising that she should
have been impressed by the young
man or that she should have been lit
tie inquisitive about him. Young wo-
men are not in the habit of thinking
that the men who propose marriage to
them have wives already. Their con-
fidence and their trust in the goodness
of the world are too great for that.
They know that bigamy is crime and
they do not think that man of good
manners will deliberately be guilty of
violation of the law, much less be
guilty of the greater offense against
the innocence of unsuspecting virtue.
But the parents are not unsophisti-
to have marriageable daughters they
must know that there are scoundrels
in the world and that it is easy for a
villain to pass himself off as a saint
Cor a short time in large city. 1t is
notorious that there is no better place
for man to hide than in a crowd and
a man can conceal not only himself
from his pursuers but he can move
from one part Of the town to another
Stuu HIS uSW dSSOCldt6S Will KNOW no
thing about his character and will
make few il any inquiries. Indeed,
he can live with one wife in the city
and WOO another woman and carry her
without either victim knowing any
thing about the other
One would think that the parents
would seek to know who the men are
that seek their daughters in marriage.
1t would seem as if they would not
only Learn something about the man
ner of life of the woOer, but would also
find out something about his family
and about what that family thinks of
the proposed union Under proper
circumstances a marriage between the
children of two families results in the
acquaintance at least of the parents by
An interchange of letters if in no other
way. Where the daughter is overtaken
by such disaster as has just come upon
the young woman whom Smith in
duced to marry him her parents can
not escape some of the responsibility
for what happens. A young woman 5
life IS too precious a thing to be in.
trusted to the first plausible STRANGER
who asks for her hand. But fron re
cent events one must conclude snat
this has been forgotten in BROOKLYN
Brooklyn Eagle