The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-08-08
tBy Dorothy Dix.)

10 obtain a marriage license. BY mis-.
take he stumbled into room in which
a divorce case was being tried and
after listening to the sordid story Of
married life II unfolded--a tale Of
pickering. and quarrels. ard charges,
andcountercharges. Of cruelty and
noglect-he decided that nc was not
foolhardy enough to tackle a danger
Gus proposition as matrimory and fed
in terror from the scene.
The incident is remarkable in that
It Is an authentic account of a man be-
ing warned by another persons fate.
but the wonderful thing Is net that one
youth was scared of from marriage,
but that any Of us with tho awful ex.
amples of matrimonial infelicity we
have all about us, should ever be WIZ
ing to take the risk Of making the
fatal journey 10 the alter. That The
wedding bells continue 70 ring is the
final triumph Of hope over other peo-
pies experience. other couples mas
have found marriage a failure. but
every youth and maiden beiieyo that
they have found the way back to
Eden, add that the marriage ring is
going to be the magic tailsman thai
win open the gates Of the lost Para
disc to them.
This seldom happens. and one Of the
most pathetic things in the world Is
the disillusionmnt that marriage
brings to the majority of people. This
is leaving out Of account the cases
where some great wrong on either
side breaks hearts, and wc,cl,s lives
and drags couples into the divorce
court. 1t merely refers to the common
tragedy Of daily life. where a man and
a woman let the marriage tie that
starts out like a silver bon between
them become a ball and chain that
fetters them together like prisoners,
and that you can hear clanE every
time you come into their presence Yet
these people snariied for love and the
question IS how. when they started cut
with such wealth Of affection. Il
they so soon become bankrupt?
The Average Marriage.
The majority of marriages are rank
failures SO far as bringing any real
happiness TO either party Is concerned.
This is sweeping statement but
challenge you to deny its truth. How
many husbands and wives do you
know who find their chief pleasure in
each others society? How many cou-
pies can you find between whom there
is any genuine comradeship? Is uot
the average mans real estimate Of tho
enjoyment Of having his wife along sx-
pressed In the old minstrel Joke about
the man, who. when asked II he took
his wife with him when he went on a
journey, replied: mo wens on a
pleasure trip"
Does not the conversation Of most
couples. even in public, con.
sis; Of little jabs at each other which
Diqnantiy suggest the amount Of sin.
ger they throw into a heart.to.hsars
ak IN the privacy Of homer Can you
lOt pick out any husband aiul wife at
he theater by the listless anil bored
way In which they yawn in each others
aces, or SPOT them anywhere by their
nttffof racrgr,,lnotfo,o ,r.bo.a,o. ~.
rain is late. or tae cooking bad at
or anything goes wrong2
Would not a composite photograph of
Nj the Darbys and Joans you know
ihcw Iwonder what.made
nough-to-marry.yo expression
Yet those people We're once in love,
hey married in order that they might
mend their lives together rhey arc
aithfal and loyal 20 each other They
wear themselves out working al 4
70 make each other physi-
,aliy comfortable, but somehow be-
ween then. they have slain the Joy
md glory AMI romance Of life and tho
greatest problem OF civilization is 20
ind how iles was done, ana how two
'eople who meant to make each Other
Happy. make each other miserable.
Perhaps women are more 70 blame
or this state OF affairs than men. In
his country, AZ least 1t is woniaa who
strikes the key note Of family life.
md II is up to her TO decide whether
{ shall be nladrigals suns under her
window, or a cat fght ON the kitchen
oof Of course. the long years of nat.
imony are f.n enough. at oest, Of
rials and tribulauons. OF sickness and
'nNiety, and STRUGGLE and strain. hut
here Is ho woman who nnot keep
D.. H..