The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1905-09-16

The way in which many marriages
take place Is an object Of criticism and
cause OF uneasiness to some SCH
entists. They fear it is deteriorating
the race. Men are careful, they point
cut, to mate their horses and cattle
so as to keep their blood pure and
develop In the highest degree possible
the special qualities which make them
valuable. But human beings are al
lowed to mate as they please, regard
less Of their physical, mental or moral
deficiencies or Of their adaptabtl1ty to
each other. For the good Of pos
tertty as well as for the happiness Of
the candidates for matrimony there
ought, 1t has been gravely urged, to
be some authority to forbid the banns
in case it should appear, for scientific
reasons, that they ought not to be al
lowed Marriages, it used to be said,
are made In heaven They ought, Oh
this theory, to be made in the labora-
tory. American Medicine does not like
the theory. 1t questions, In q recent
article, If any man ever will be wise
enough to say who ought and who
ought not to marry. Il points out that
many parents who haye good consti-
tutions and seem ideally adapted to
each other have children that LACK re-
sistance to the invasion of patho-
genie organisms"-ln other words, that
are weak and puny-while many par
ents who have poor constitutions, OF
do not seem well adapted to each
other, have fine children. 1t might
have added that many couples who,
when they were married, were pro-
nounced perfectly mated have ended
in the divorce court, while many who
were regarded as uneQually yoked to-
gether live so happily as to be the
envy Of their neighboTS and friends.
American Medicine thinks what lie
needed Is not more restrictions on
marriage, but less. The interest o&
the race, it believes, Is that young
people shall be allowed to marry about
as they choose. Perhaps the scheme
Of mating men and women scientific
ally" Is not 30 scientific as 1t seems.
Its advocates forget that domest1cated
animals are mated, not with a view
to their good, but with a view to the
pleasure or profit Of those who own
them. In q state Of nature animals
pair as instinct prompts them The
result Is to equip wild animals with
bodies by which they are enabled
much better than domesticated ones
to take care Of themselves wherever
they happen to be. When the good
of the animal itself or Of its own spe-
c1es Is to be subserved nature knows
better than man how to guide its con-
duct, 50 it may be, after all, that the
really scientific marriage Is that In
which science might be supposed to
have the least part - the marriage,
that is, which is prompted by nature,
the marriage solely for love. If this
be the case, marriage 10 on a more
scientific basis In the United States
than in any other country. The young
folks here usually arrange everything.
The results, on the whole, are salts
factory. Many terminate their 70
mances in the divorce courts But
this does not show there Is more mar
ital infelicity here than elsewhere. In
fact there Is less. All It shows is that
those VINO cannot live happily togeth-
er, or think they cannot, have more
opportunity here than elsewhere to
free themselves from bonds that gail