Morris tribune., 1901-03-30
MATCHES AND MONEY
UNRoMANTIc couRTsHIPs ARE THE
RULE IN GERMANY.

Il y
quiring a Military Husband.
\ In Bavaria every girl is expected t
| get married Ask a Bavarian, and b,
will tell you that it is impossible for
portionless maiden to find a husband
If a girl has no money for a dowry
therefore, she sets herself at work tx
save one.
Marriage in Germany is nearly en-
/ tirely matter of business. The father
| of the girl a lounces the sum which is
| to go with her, while the papa Of the
1 prospective husband holds out fol
more. That is the first stage of the
/ negotiations. Little by little each yields
| to the other. Finally, often after
months of delay, the contract is drawn
up with minute Specifications by a
notary, and then the lovemaking may
begin. The courtship is very circum-
scribed and is probably not altogether
satisfactory, for the German maiden is
a romantic creature, and the opportuni-
ties she has for getting acquainted
with her husband before marriage are
very meager.
The parental supervision Is so inbred
in the nation that even the government
takes hand in it with it's servants. A
German army officer is a splendid crea-
ture to the eye, but his pay is very
small, ranging from a matter Of So a
week for a lieutenant to $50 a week
for full fedged general. In order to
prevent the possibility Of seediness in
appearance or style Of living the gov
eminent forbids an officer to marry un-
less he deposits a certain sumit is
$4,000 for a lieutenant and becomes
gradually less for each higher grade
with the authorities, the income Of
which is doled out to him semiannuaI-
". This is in reality putting a price on
the man, because the greater number
of German officers are very poor and
can get the money required only from
their brides.
. The money which q wife brings to
her husband, unless there is an express
notarial stipulation to the contrary. be-
comes absolutely the husbands proper
ty. Woman In the eye of the law has
no rights except such as her
husband may allow her. He treats her
very often as merely piece of live
stock. If the woman rebels, which she
does very rarely, he displays very
short temper and an aptness for WELD
Ing poker or a walking stick in use
for which they were never meant.
In a German newspaper one may al
ways find column devoted to matri- |
monial announcements. There is no I
romance in these advertisements The !
man tells how much money he has and
how much he wants. The woman
1ames her ydowry to the very pfennig.
Very often the man has no money at
LII and expresses his desire to marry
ntoi albusiness, but the woman knows
hat it is useless to advertise at all IN
ess she has some money, IL it amounts
'nly to 500 or so, which may be re-
,arded as the lowest sum worthy Of
consideration as might.
On the other hand, it is the woman's
privilege to name the calling which she
prefers the man should follow She
Usually chooses an official clerk or por-
err, policeman or a ear conductor. all
Il whom have tenure of Office and an
Id age pension. She has more Of an
We to stability than to ambition. II
1t is in the so called higher classes of
ociety that one finds the baldest and
most businessIike- matrimonial trans
ctions. There are few young men of i
his class who have either money or
ny prospect of making any otherwise
han by wealthy marriage When j
hey inherit fortunes, it is the fashion
. dissipate thea. and when they don't
merit 1t is against the prejudices of {
heir education and training to seek
Employment or to engage in any kind
business. il
Therefore most of them enter the ar.
~ while waiting for rich bride.
daughters OF rich brewers and mer-
hanfs are acceptable TO these gentle {
len, but their great and persistent
ream is to capture an American heir.
IS. They confess the matter frankly
any one and every one who will lis.
sn
Travelling American heiresses are NOT
}, plentiful In Germany as in France
nd Italy, still, they are TO be found
would seem. however, that nOtwith q
'aDding the fact that German titles !
re at least a little more valuable than
lose Of the Latin countries they do
ot possess the same glamour IN femi. .
Inc eyes, because the German title =
aptures the American bag Of gold 7
'mpa Eatively rarely Perhaps 1t is be 9
luse the Teutonic wooing is more ar q
'gant and supercillous than lnsinuat-
is. =
OF all countries Germany Is perhaps 2
nat In which romanticism 1ourishes y
ost. II is instinct in it's traditions, in ts
. history and its literature. Yet in 2
le affairs OF daily life and pre-emi- =
emily in its matrimonial affairs mill 2
Irism rises to the plane OF worship z
ew York Sun. 2
A Hind Sale. c;
An exchange tells OF a novel plan It
lopted by an English hostess to Sc b
Ire funds for a charity In which she A