The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-24
WOMAN'S
WORLD.


marriage service) is the ragged remnant
from the days when women were the
despised servants and drudges of men.
In old English usage the woman prom
ised to be 'buxom" (bow-some, submits
sive). Now the phrase is, in nearly all
churches, that she will love, honor ana
obey" him. The obedience is made very
pronounced, and after the service, as they
march from the church, the organ rat
ties out the music of Now you are mar
ried, you must obey" and the bride is
gibed about her promise. and declares
that she had told the expectant groom
that she would say it, but that she did
not mean to keep the vow. What ought
10 be the most serious promise of mar
riage the pledge OF dutiful affection and
fidelity, becomes j joke and a farce, just
because priests and people will keep in
the service of marriage the words which
perpetuate an an;iquated. obsolete con-
dition of social life.
Still. clergymen of conservative ideas
and whole denominations that provide
required form of marriage. says the New
York Independent, insist on the retention
of the falsehood. Sometimes they even
try to justify it from Scripture. They
quote Paul on the silence and obedience
of women. as If what was right in Paurs
day were 10 be right always. They even
so back to the Garden of Eden for arsu-
nlent But we know better now. be-
cause social and moral conditions are bet
Ter. When the condition changes the law
changes
But the sad thing is to see these teach
ers of religion requiring women to per-
Jure themselves on such a solemn occa-
sion, TO promise to do what they do not
intend to do, and ought not to engage to
dc. 1t is of a piece with the pledge
required of ministers or theological pro-
fessors giving their adhesion to a creed
which was made generations ago, and
which can be accepted only in some very
loose construction OF language. 1t tends
10 insincerity, to hippancy Of thought
about marriage, even to misunderstand-
ings and differences that may lead to
quarrels and divorce.
Marriage is the foundation of society;
it should be the fit foundation for the
society we know. Such society requires
the best development of woman as well
as of man. 1t makes neither a tyrant
and neither a slave, but each the help
full mate and adviser of the other. In
such society as the Christian religion has
developed, with education and culture the
right and the achievement Of the woman
as well as OF the man should be recog-
nized. To require the woman to put her
self under the will of the man, to obey
him, as well as to love and honor him,
is a cruel, wicked anachronism; ana 10
clergyman is justified in compelling
woman to make such promise, and
hardly so even If she desires to make it.
For her to make it is to dishonor her
sex, If she intends to keep It; and If not,
it is q falsehood which, on such solemn
occasion and on so serious a subject APP
proaches perjury.
A Munich letter to the New York Sun
says: I'm this land every girl is expected
to get married. ASK a Baverian and he
VIII tell you that 1t is impossible for a
portionless maiden to find a husband. IL
a girl has no money for dowry, there
fore. she sets herself at work to save
some. Marriage in Germany is nearly
entirely a matter of business The father
of the girl announces the sum which is
10 go with her, while the papa of the
prospective husband holds out for 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 speci-
iications by notary, and then the love
making may begin.
This parental supervision IS so inbred
IN the nation that even the government
takes hand in it with its servants. A
German army officer is a splendid crea-
ture to the eye, but his pay is very small.
ranging from a matter of IS a week for a
lieutenant to $50 a week for fu.l-hedged
general In order to prevent the pos
sihiiity OF seediness in appearance or
style of living the government forbids an
officer to marry unless he deposits a GER
tain sum-it is 500 600 for a lieutenant
and becomes gradually less for each high
er grade-with the authorities. the income
of which is doled out to him semi-an-
nuaily. 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.
1.-THE money which a wife brings to her
husband. unless there is an express no
tarial stipulation to the contrary, be-
comes absolutely the husbands property.
Woman, in the eye of the law, has prac-
tically no right except such as her hus-
band may allow her He treats her very
often as merely piece of live stock If
Fhe woman rebels. which she does very
rarely, he displays very short temper
and aptness for welding a poker or a
walking-stick In a use for which they
were never meant.
ways find a column devoted to matrimo-
NAL announceents. 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
20 the very pfennig. Very often the man
has no money at ALL
ION the other hand, It is the woman's
privilege to name the calling which she
prefers the man should follow She US
ually chooses an official clerk or porter.
a policeman or a car conductor, all of
whom have tenure of Office and an old
age pension. She has more of an eye to
stability than to ambition.
1T is in the so-called higher classes of
society that one finds the baldest and
most busnesslike matrimonial transac-
tions. There are few young men of this
class who have either money or any pros
pect OF making any otherwise than by
wealthy marriage. When they inherit
fortunes II Is the fashion to dissipate
them, and when they don't inherit II IS
against the prejudices OF their education
and training to seek emplcy ment or to
engage in any kind Of business.
Therefore, most of them enter the
army while waiting for a rich bride
Daughters of rich brewers and merchants
are acceptable to these gentlemen but
their great ard persistent dream is to, cap
ture an American heiress. They confess
the matter frankly to any one and every
Iii Tf-AI