The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-03-20
MATCHES AND MONEY
uNRoAANTlc couRYshIPs ARE 7nE
RULE IN GERMANY.
TAese sAe wenea Are Obliged to
Have sone Biasoo1al Resources
whea TAey NaTrg-Thc Cest e9 Ae-
aulriae Q Military husband.

|
Have sone Biaaaois1 Resources
whea They NaTrg-Thc Cest o9 Ae-
auiriee Military husband.
In Bavaria every gin Is expected to
get married. Ask Bayarian. and be
will tell yen thak It Is impossible for q
2oztionless naldea to aad g husband
II girl has ae money for q dowry.
therefore, che sets herself q: work to
gave one.
Marriage Ia Germany is nearly en-
tirely q matter OF business. The father
Of the girl ANNOUNCES the sum which 10
TO go with her. while the papa OF the
prospective husband holds cut for
more. That ls the Arst stage Of the
negotiations. Little By little each yields
30 the other. Finally, often after
months OF delay. the contract Is drawn
up with minute specifications BY
notary, and then the lovemaking may
begin The eourtship Is very circun1-
scribed and Ia probably not altogether
satisfactory. for the German maiden is
a romantic creature. and the epportuni-
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 a hand in 1t with its servants. A
German army officer 10 splendid crea-
ture to the eye. but his pay is very
small, ranging from q matter Of 9S s
week for lieutenant to $50 week
for full hedged general. In order to
prevent the possibility Of seediness In
appearance or style Of living the gov
eminent forbids al officer to marry 1in-
less he deposits certain sum-it 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 semiannual-
IT, 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.
her husband. unless there is an express
notarial stipulation to the contrary, be-
comes absolutely the husbands proper
u. Woman in the eye Of the law has
practically 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 a very
short temper and an aptness for WELD
ing q poker OF walking stick in use
for which they were never meant.
In German newspaper one may al
ways ind & column devoted to matri-
monial announcements. There is no
romance in these advertisements. The
man tells how much money he has and
how much he wants. The woman
names her dowry to the very pfennig.
Very often the man has no money at
all and expresses his desire to marry
into business. but the woman knows
that it is useless to advertise at all un-
less she has some money, If it amounts
only to 500 or so. which may be re-
garded as the lowest sum worthy Of
consideration as mitS:ft
On the other hand, it is the woman's
privileges to name the calling which she
prefers the man should follow. She
usually chooses an official clerk 0: por-
ter. policeman or car conductor. all
Of whom hare tenure Of office and an
old ag2 pension She has moro Of IN
eye 10 stability than to ambition.
1t is in the so called higher eicSses O.
society that one finds the bsldest and
most businesslike matrimonial traen
actions. There are few young nen Of
this class who hare either Ueney OF
any prospect Of making any otherwise
than by wealthy marriage. Wien
they inherit fortunes is il the fsshien
to dissipsta then. and whea they doa't
inherit 1t IS against the pretsdlces Of
their education and training te seek
employment ey to engage IL any kind
Of business
Therefore most of them enter the ar
my while waiting for rich bride.
Daughters ct rich brewers and uer-
chants are acceptable ee these gentle
men. but their great and persistent
dream is to capture an American heir
ess. They confess the matter frankly
to any one and every one who will lis
ten.
Travelling American heiresses are not
so plentiful in Germany as in France
and Italy; still. they are to be found.
It would seem, however. that netwith-
standing the fact that German titles
are at least little uore valuable than
those Of sAe Latin countries they do
not possess the same glamour in feni-
uine eyes. because the German title
captures the :AHeTicaQ bag OF gold
comparatively rarely. Perhaps 1t is be-
cause the TeutDn!c woolng ia noEe ar
Fogant aud supeSrilieus tf1a ins,Raat-
ing.
OF all countries Gesmany il perhaps
that In which romsnticisw nourishea
most. It Is instinct IN it's traditions. Ia