Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1906-12-13
Old Ideals Haze Departed.

rank In the community by being mar.
ried. Women are largely s~elf.support.
ing. It Is to-day almost an unheard
OF thing that a man shall remain
single to support his unmarried sis.
tiers. Before the civil war, an epoch
which materially changed other social
conditions in this country, for all time,
It was a frequent occurrence that q
man quietly and unselishly gave up
his own preference for marriage that
he might toll for the maintenance OF
his sisters.
The war-cloud that broke in terrific
storm over the states In 1861. swept
away from north and south into low.
ly graves, a vast host of bread-wIn.
ners. 1t spared and sent home to their
womenkind another host of invalids
and cripples. Women undertook as
they had not done before. tasks OF
wage-earning beyond their doors. All
great wars In modern times, In every
country under the sun are followed
by this result. Women are forced into
the open and learn to take care OF
themselves and Of those who depend
upon them.
A girl who pays her own way, who
buys her own clothing and has her
own bank account seldom marries In
the first flush OF girlhood. She grows
f%astidious. too. sets a high value on
herself, Is unwilling to marry unless
she meets her ideal lover. and then
she counts the cost. Is he likely to be
able to give her the comforts she now
possesses, or with their combined eff.
forts al they establish the sort of
home that she Graves? The questions
are seriously considered in her own
mind.
College training for both sexes has
become general and 1t likewise defers
marriage until a late period. A stu.
dent enters college between Is and 20
and spends four years In it's compare.
tive seclusion. If a profession is to
follow that means from three to Ave
additional years absorbed In getting
ready for life. The young doctor. the
young lawyer. the young journalist
cannot leap into success a. a bound;
several more years are occupied In
the endeavOr to gain clients or prac.
tice or to find a job that Is both agree
able and remunerative.
AT least a the girlgraduates Of
our colleges undertake advanced
studies after they receive their diplo.
mas. or prepare for a profession or
engage In business. At a glance 1t Is
evident that they cannot marry until
they have reached a certain maturity.
At present, the girl who marries at
30 Is much Oftener met than she who
Is a bride at 20, and the man who
marries at 40 Is not now exceptional
or looked upon as in the least an old
fellow who Is out OF date. The man OF
40 may perhaps have a bride Is years
his junior. Tho man who marries at
a girl some years older than himself
Here enters the intangible law of
averages.
Whether or not the present custom
Is n for cOngratulation or regret, II
Is q little difficult to determine. OF
one thing we may be sure and that Is
that the old, sweet and exquisite ideal
OF the simple home suffers from the
undue discretion and excessive eau.
ton of twentieth century young PEG.
pie. A home to DO beautiful need not
be extravagant. Childless couples are
less exceptional than Of old. People
who marry late have small families,
and they have, though sometimes they
do not dream 1t, lost much of the hap.
piness that might have been theirs
had they been content to settle down
early. and enjoy the trials and tri.
umphs OF the day Of small things.
Copyright. 1905. by Joseph B. Bowles.)