Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-08-06
THE MARRIAG FABLE AGE
Girls Should Wed at Twenty
four, Says Edwin Warfield.
OWE SERVICE TO THEIR PARENTS

Governor of Maryland Advises
Young Women Against Early Mar
rinEcs and Wants His Daughters
to Follow Their Mothers Example
and Remain Sin=Ie Until They Are
Twenty-si1.
Governor Edwin Warfield OF Mary
! land has caused a stir among femin-
Unity by stating that twcnty-four is the
proper age ut which girl should
marry says Baltimore dispatch. He
made the statement in addressing the
graduates of the high school at VIII
minGtOn. Del. recently. ana soon aft
erward followed ii up with the follow
ing remarks
My advice to girls Is not to marry
too early. If asked the age when girls
should marry, l should say from TWEEN
ty-four to twenty-six. The latter was
the age of Mrs. Warficld when l mar
| ried her, and l have said To my daugh-
tiers that l should not give my consent
to their marriage until they arrive at
! that age.
Marriage for the purpose of settling
4 daughter in life is. as rule, Il fail
ure and an unhappy one, No parent,
and especially no true and loving moth
er, will wish to push her daughter into
matrimony before she is fully matured
and fitted for the grave responsibilities
of married life. Girls just out of school
are not equipped for the ordinary
household duties of wives and for the
cares and trials of motherhood. They
should. after leaving school, spend
some time with their parents, giving
their parents the pleasure of their COM
panionShip and learning something of
the everyday work that Will be theirs
as wives.
The girl who marriCs too early
misses many of the pleasures of life.
She is doomed to spend her youthful
days in the trying and taxing cares Of
motherhood and household duties. with
broken health and rundown nerves be
fore she has passed out of her teens.
such marriages are unfortunate.
They are entered into without due con-
sideration and frequently before the
husband has fully established his bust
ness ability and the earning capacity
that will enable him to provide for the
| increasing wants of married life. Girls
SnOulu De Taught lilai lIltlt II iilOit III
life than getting married. that when
they leave school they owe some serv-
ice to their parents and that they
should spend some of their days i'll
making the lives of their fathers and
mothers easier and brighter.
1.-The same advice pertains 10 young
men. l have known cases where young
men. because they married too soon
| and before they had established them
selves i'll permanent positions, were
compelled to give up good opportunities
| for advancement because family ties
and environments kept them down TO
one locality The realization of the
mistakes of marrying too early has dis
couraged many Il young man, blasted
his future. brought disappointment to
himself and deprivation and suffering
to his family.
Il believe in marriage and would like
to see every man and woman mated in
congeniaI comDanionship for life, but
am opposed to early and thOughtless
marriages.
II was thirty eight when 1 married
and my wife was twelve years my
junior. We are happy and contentcd
with our lot and have four children
three girls and one boy-all vigorous
and healthy physically and mentally.
Hence my reasons for advocating a
mature age before marriage"